ArmInfo. In the summer of 2020, IC: Against the background caused by coronavirus, an increase in cybercrimes is observed. This was announced by Sasun Grigoryan, senior investigator for particularly important cases of the Main Directorate of the RA IC for the investigation of cybercrimes and crimes in the field of high technologies, at a July 10 press conference.
Grigoryan informed that, due to the coronavirus, citizens have limited their physical contacts and spend more time on the Internet, which increases the potential risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime. As noted, the current situation is also used by cybercriminals who have concentrated their forces in this direction. This applies, in particular, to various cyber fraud schemes, including through phishing sites.
According to Grigoryan, if 118 criminal cases related to cybercrime were investigated in the RA Investigative Committee in 2019, then in the first half of 2020 their number was 94. As was noted, the recorded figure for the current year may also be associated with an increase in circulation citizens to law enforcement.
The investigator emphasized that many cybercrimes remain in the shadows, and hundreds and thousands of victims do not turn to law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, as was emphasized, an ordinary citizen, without the help of the relevant units to combat cybercrime, is not able to independently solve the problem of cyber fraud.
According to Grigoryan most often, in Armenia there are cases of cyber fraud, where criminals mislead citizens to obtain passport or bank data, or require transfers of funds to online accounts for providing any service. At the same time, cybercriminals are focusing on citizens with social or financial problems who are looking for easy ways to receive money. This may be, for example, ads on social networks on the issuance of loans or on resolving issues with poor credit history. Moreover, as analysis shows, in order to enter into trust, cybercriminals use their intellect and knowledge in psychology.
In this regard, the expert advises not to transfer your passport and bank data to strangers, and carefully double-check the information about the company that promises to solve financial problems. Another tip is not to repair your smartphones and computers in unfamiliar places, especially if their user has not logged out.
Grigoryan also informed that there are no criminal cases in the IC where minors became victims of cybercrime. This is due to the fact that this category of citizens does not have bank accounts, as well as passport data that fraudsters can use for their own purposes (for example, to get a loan or make payments through online payment systems).