Financial Fraud, Cyber Scams and India – A Small Survey of Popular Recent Cases

Abstract

India is a major concern for the global community. The introduction, growth and utilization of information and telecommunication technologies have been accompanied by an increase in illegal activities. With respect to cyberspace, anonymous servers, hijacked emails and fake websites are being used as a tool and medium for fraud by cyber scammers. Indian fraud on the Internet is an obvious form of cybercrime that has been affected by the global revolution. This form of crimes is not exclusive to large sums of money to participate into business proposals but also covers romance, lottery and charity scams. Estimates of the total losses due to this scam vary widely. Thus, there is a need for international cooperation to stamp out such illicit activities and protect Internet users. Although new techniques are constantly being implemented and regulations being adopted to combat and eradicate diverse forms of fraud, yet cyberspace is also providing new means and tools that facilitate committing these scams. Accordingly, this paper seeks to address and analyse some issues related to the use of cyberspace for fraud by cyber scammers especially Financial Fraud and the techniques used. It will also provide an analysis of the existing legislative and regulatory framework and their efficiency in combating this form of cross-border crime taking India as a case study. This paper presents the historical origin of financial frauds and presents a small survey of some popular financial frauds committed in the recent years in India.