Legal recourse for cybercrimes still a far cry

Imagine one day, you wake up and realise fraudsters have gotten information about your NID numbers, purchased sim cards in your name, and have committed crimes by impersonating you.

Scary, isn't it?

Such cybercrimes have become increasingly common these days, with personal information of many citizens being openly sold at different online platforms. The Daily Star has published multiple reports in the recent past on this topic.

Tania, a 27-year-old doctor, is one such victim.

In November 2023, she discovered 15 SIM cards had been registered using her National Identity Card and fingerprint.

These SIMs were linked to three different mobile operators and were used to take small loans.

After she contacted BTRC, the SIMs were deregistered later, but a subsequent investigation by the regulatory body failed to track the culprit (or culprits) as of May 25, 2024.

Falguni, another victim, fell prey to a similar scam. The fraudster called her brother Javed before his university admission test and claimed he had won a prize.

Javed, convinced by the caller who knew his exact personal details, directed him to Falguni.

Falguni, trusting the caller, revealed her bank card number and OTPs, leading to a loss of Tk 60,000. Despite filing a complaint, Falguni received no resolution and gave up due to concerns about legal complexities.

These are just two cases highlighted in a recent survey titled "CCAF Cyber Crime Research Report 2024", conducted by the Cyber Crime Awareness Foundation.

The survey interviewed 132 victims of cybercrime from April 2023 to April 2024.

According to the report, nearly 59 percent of the victims are women.

Social media and online account hacking is the most common crime, making up 21.65 percent of cases, followed by online threats at 8.6 percent.

The report also found that 78.78 percent of the victims were aged 18 to 30, which is an increase from 75 percent a year ago.

The survey highlights the dissatisfaction of victims with legal resources available at their disposal.  Many, like Falguni, thought they wouldn't get justice from the existing system.

The study found that cybercrimes make up 11.85 percent of total crimes, including personal information spreading, job scams, and online gambling.

Pornography-related crimes increased in 2023, affecting 11.35 percent of victims, with 50 percent of them experiencing cyber bullying.

Nearly 48 percent of victims face social disgrace, 40 percent suffer financial losses, and almost all endure mental anguish.

Only 12 percent sought legal recourse in 23-24, which was 21 percent in a similar CCAF study in 22-23.

CCAF attributed this decline to the lack of trust among victims in legal resources.

Among those who chose the legal path, 87.50 percent said they did not achieve satisfactory results.

The study mentioned that 70 percent of the victims were unaware of the cybercrime act.

The study recommended not clicking or sharing anything without verification, being cautious with digital transactions, and checking security measures before sharing personal information.

It also urged the government to coordinate public-private partnerships for public awareness, protect personal data, enhance law enforcement training, inform citizens about laws, and decentralise the Cyber Police Center for grassroots service.

The study was conducted by Obydullah Al Marjuk, a senior lecturer in the Social Science and Humanities Department at Independent University, Bangladesh, with research assistants from CCAF.

Ishtiaq Ahmed, additional deputy commissioner of Police at the CTTC Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said most sections of the Cyber Security Act 2013 are bailable, making it difficult to bring offenders to justice.

He also mentioned that delayed complaints from victims hinder legal protection and that child pornography is increasing through social media.

CCAF President Brig Gen Kazi Mustafizur Rahman said increasing individual awareness can reduce cyber crime and the responsibility for awareness must be shared collectively.