Back

What Is Online Fraud Liability?

Internet fraud represents a Criminal Code crime with appropriate punishment provided for by law. The Criminal Code does not have a separate article describing component elements of online fraud, but it takes into account that in most cases online fraudsters ask to transfer money to an electronic wallet or make a money transfer using cryptocurrency. Punishment for such cases is provided for by Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Fraud Using Electronic Means of Payment.

What May Be the Penalty?

Internet fraud liability depends on the scale of damage. The minimum penalty is a fine of about 120,000 rubles or community service. In more serious cases, online fraudsters can be imprisoned for up to 10 years and fined up to 1 million rubles.

This means that if it is the first time the fraudster has committed the crime and the damage to the victim is insignificant, he or she can get off with a fine or community service. The greater the damage, the harsher the punishment.

Unfortunately, in such cases it is not easy to compensate for the damage, i.e. to return the stolen money. According to statistics, only about 5% of the total amount stolen is returned to online fraud victims. This is due to difficulties in identifying and bringing criminals to justice.

Therefore, it is more important not to count on criminal prosecution of fraudsters, but to try to prevent such crimes from happening. And the first preventive step is to learn the basic rules of online security.

There are many types of online fraud, but the most common is phishing. In most cases, it is a scam using phishing links and the creation of fake (phishing) websites, in less common cases - the creation of phishing banking applications. By clicking on a link in an email or logging on to a website, attackers gain access to personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers. The simplest example: you receive an email from "your" bank asking you to share your details to prevent your account from being hacked, you follow the link in the email, enter your details, and they immediately fall into the fraudsters’ hands. Scammers can send phishing links using all means: via email, social networks and messengers.

Another popular scam implies selling non-existent goods or services in online stores. For example, cybercriminals set up fake online stores where payments are accepted but no goods are delivered. But the loss of goods and money is not the most dangerous thing that can happen. It's much worse when fraudsters get full access to the victim's bank details. Scammers also often operate on official marketplaces. For example, if you are chatting with a seller in the marketplace chat, but he suddenly offers to switch to Messenger and pay for the goods directly - this is a signal that you are dealing with a scammer.

How to Protect Yourself from Online Scams?

Be careful! Never give out your passwords, bank card numbers or sensitive information to anyone - especially if you are asked to or even threatened. Be careful when entering personal information on websites. Check that you have entered the correct address and that you are using a secure connection - https://. Use a reliable antivirus program to protect your computer from malware - it simply won’t let you access an untrustworthy site or block an infected file if you try to download it.

If you've been scammed, file a police report immediately, but keep in mind that it can be difficult to recover stolen funds.

Let’s summarize: online fraud is a serious crime, punishable by fines and imprisonment. But the most effective way to protect yourself from it is to be careful and cautious.