Email crimes and IT Law-Nasscom cyber safe 2010

Cyber Safe Thane - 2010


w w w . c y b e r l a w c o n s u l t i n g . c o mCONFIDENTIAL

Adv. Prashant Mali [BSc.(Phy.), MSc.(Comp. Sci.), CNA, LLB]Cyber Law & IPR Expert

Email Crimes & Indian Cyber Law

Cyber Safe Thane - 2010 w w w . c y b e r l a w c o n s u l t i n g . c o mCONFIDENTIAL

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

• Computer Crime, E-Crime, Hi-Tech Crime or Electronic Crime is where a computer is the target of a crime or is the means adopted to commit a crime.

• Most of these crimes are not new. Criminals simply devise different ways to undertake standard criminal activities such as fraud, theft, blackmail, forgery, and embezzlement using the new medium, often involving the Internet


DIFFERENT TYPES OF CYBERCRIMES• Data Theft • Source Code Theft (Stealing Computer Programs)• Hacking• Denial of Service• Spreading Virus & Malicious Codes• Defamation & Social Networking Abuse(eg. FACEBOOK etc)• Cyber pornography , Child Pornography• Email related crimes• Cyber Stalking• Phishing • Cyber terrorism • Intellectual Property crimes- software piracy, copyright

infringement, trademarks violations.


E-MAIL RELATED CRIMES

Some of the major email related crimes are:• 1. Email Lottery Scam(Nigerian 419 Scam) • 2. Sending malicious codes through email • 3. Email bombing• 4. Illegal Email Forwarding• 5. Sending threatening emails• 6. Emails containing sexually explicit act etc• 7. Communal Disharmony thru emails• 8. Email Spoofing (identity theft)


1. Email Lottery Scam (Nigerian 419 Scam)

w w w . c y b e r l a w c o n s u l t i n g . c o m

An Email Sample showing email received from Microsoft , for winning A lottery amount of $8000000 USD
















Legal StatusThe nearest provision which is provided by the IT (Amendment) Act, 2008 is section 66-D whereby the offender is punished for cheating by impersonation and also Section 66-C which speaks punishment for Identity theft

Also Applicable Section 415,416, 417 420 of IPC


2. Sending Malicious Codes through email


The attachment is actually a Trojan file which still can escape detection by some antivirus products


3. Email bombing


The email bomber jams your inbox continuously with same emails


4. Illegal Email Forwarding











Section(43)(b) If any person without permission of the owner Downloads, copies or extracts any data, computer data base or information from such computer, computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored in any removable storage medium;Civil Liability : Compensation to be paidSection(66) : Imprisonment upto 3yrs OR

Fine up to 5 Lakhs OR Both

Also Applicable Section 379,405,420 of IPC


5. Sending threatening/Defamatory emails


New Delhi, May 15: Noted lyricist Javed Akhtar has received death threats via email after he apparently called an Islamic cleric “insane” during a television debate about the fatwa against working women.Akhtar has informed the police about the messages which told him that “your countdown has begun”.


5. Sending threatening/Defamatory emails


Section 66-A Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc. Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device,-a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character; orb) any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, or ill will, persistently makes by making use of such computer resource or a communication device,c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deceive or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of suchshall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two three years and with fine.


6. Emails containing sexually explicit act etc


Section 67- A Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act,etc. in electronic form (Inserted vide ITAA 2008) Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the Electronic form any material which contains sexually explicit act or conduct shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees and in the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years and also with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.Exception: This section and section 67 does not extend to any book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation or figure in electronic form-(i)the publication of which is proved to be justified as being for the public good on the(ii) ground that such book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation (iii)or figure is in the interest of science,literature,art,or learning or other objects of (iv)general concern; or(ii) which is kept or used bona fide for religious purposes


Section 66 and 43(d) : DATA DIDDLING• Section 66 and 43(d) of the I.T. Act covers Data DiDDling (CHANGING DATA BEFORE ENTERING INTO COMPUTER)Civil Liability : Compensation to be paidSection(66) : Imprisonment upto 3yrs OR

Fine up to 5 Lakhs OR BothCase in point : NDMC Electricity Billing Fraud Case:

A private contractor who was to deal with receipt and accounting of electricity bills by the NDMC, Delhi. Collection of money, computerized accounting, record maintenance and remittance in his bank who misappropriated huge amount of funds by manipulating data files to show less receipt and bank remittance.



7. Spreading Communal Disharmony thru Emails


Section 66-F(1) Defines Cyber Terrorism and Section 66-F(2) Specifies Punishment of imprisonment which may extend to imprisonment for life


Section 66C: IDENTITY THEFT

Whoever, fraudulently or dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification feature of any other person,

Penalty : up to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to rupees one lakh.

Section 419 of IPC also applicable


Section 66C: IDENTITY THEFT- CASE STUDY• Pranab Mitra , former executive of Gujarat Ambuja

Cement posed as a woman, Rita Basu, and created a fake e-mail ID through which he contacted one V.R. Ninawe an Abu Dhabi businessmen . After long cyber relationship and emotional massages Mitra sent an e-mail that ‘‘she would commit suicide’’ if Ninawe ended the relationship. He also gave him ‘‘another friend Ruchira Sengupta’s’’ e-mail ID which was in fact his second bogus address. When Ninawe mailed at the other ID he was shocked to learn that Mitra had died and police is searching Ninawe. Mitra extorted few lacs Rupees as advocate fees etc. Mitra even sent e-mails as high court and police officials to extort more money. Ninawe finally came down to Mumbai to lodge a police case.


Section(66) : CREDIT CARD FRAUD

Penalty : Imprisonment upto 3yrs And OR

Fine up to 5 Lakhs

Section 120(B), 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC.


Section(66) : PHISHING

Phishing is the process by which someone obtains private information through deceptive or illicit means in order to falsely assume another person’s identity.

The Phisher will use spoofed emails to lead the recipient to counterfeit websites. Once here, the victim is tricked into divulging credit card information, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, etc. Sec 419, 420, 465, 468, 471 of I.P.C r/w Sections 51, 63 and 65 of Copyright Act, 1957 which attract the punishment of 3 years imprisonment and fine up to 2 lakhs rupees which accused never thought of .


Section(66) : PHISHING Case Study

April 13,2010

In the verdict in the first case filed under the Information Technology Act in the country, Tamil Nadu IT secretary and adjudicator for the state, P W C Davidar on Monday directed ICICI Bank to pay Rs. 12.85 lakh as compensation

to an NRI customer, who complained he lost money from his account due to phishing in 2007 in Chennai.


EMAIL DEFAMATION CASE

• SMC Pneumatics (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Jogesh Kwatra: No. 1279/2001 Delhi HC• India’s first case of cyber defamation was reported when a

company’s employee (defendant) started sending derogatory, defamatory and obscene e-mails about its Managing Director. The e-mails were anonymous and frequent, and were sent to many of their business associates to tarnish the image and goodwill of the plaintiff company.

The plaintiff was able to identify the defendant with the help of a private computer expert and moved the Delhi High Court. The court granted an ad-interim injunction and restrained the employee from sending, publishing and transmitting e-mails, which are defamatory or derogatory to the plaintiffs.


Tata Sons v. Greenpeace International Delhi HC IA 9089/2010 in CS (OS) 1407/2010

• [Cyber defamation Injunction not granted]• Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, authoring the judgment noted that,

though the internet has a wider reach and potential for injury, traditional standards for the grant of injunctions in cases of libel will be applicable. The court reasoned that these traditional standards are well developed and there is no constitutional mandate which allows the court to create a differentiation. If this reasoning is strictly applied it would mean that the conventional rules of defamation will be applied in cases of internet defamation. If applied liberally, courts may in cases of a legislative vacuum, apply other developed legal principles without differentiation.



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