Police: about 80% of cyber crime cases in Armenia committed in social networks

YEREVAN, December 8. /ARKA/. About 80% of cyber crime cases in Armenia are committed in social networks, Andrey Yashchyan, an expert at Armenian Police Department’s division for combating hi-tech and organized crimes, said Thursday at a conference focused on cyber security in Armenia.

He said that some people use social networks for blackmailing others, for placing libelous statements, insults and porno photos here.

Very often criminals open a profile under other people’s names. They expose porno photos and compromising pictures here and offer sexual services on behalf of these people giving their real phone numbers.

Later, the offenders contact with these people and demand money for removing these profiles.

There are also wrongdoers who don’t tarnish other people’s reputations directly, but extract necessary information from their friends.

“Armenian law implies no punishment for such offences, since aggrieved persons should appeal to court for that,” Yashchyan said.

He said that other widespread cyber offences are illegal penetration in information systems for getting codes of other people’s SIM cards or bank credit cards as well as dissemination, elaboration and usage of harmful software.

In his opinion, the best way to combat such crimes is preventive measures.

He advised users to choose complicated passwords and change them regularly and type websites’ addresses correctly, since even one letter typed mistakably can open an undesirable website for users.

According to the division’s figures, 16 criminal cases were opened into cyber crimes in Jan-Sept 2011, 13 cases were opened in 2009 and 20 in 2010.

The conference has been organized by OSCE Yerevan Office and Armenian Police Department.-0---

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03:08 12/09/2011