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SUBJECT:SKS ICT 1362

TITLE:THE TOP SCAMS PREPECTUATED BY CYBERCRIMINALS

TODAY AND HOW TO AVOID THEM FROM ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES.

NAME:NUR ASYIFA UMAIRAH BINTI ROZMI

IC NUMBER:980913-03-5344
MATRIX NUMBER: 1171223
FACULTY:MAJOR OF LANGUAGES STUDIES
LECTERUR’S NAME:MADAM NAJWA AMIRAH BINTI HARUN
 INTRODUCTION

 MEANING OF SCAMS
A fraudulent scheme performed by a dishonest individuals
,group ,or company in an attempt obtain money or something else of
value.
Scams traditionally resided in confidence tricks ,where an individuals
would misrepresent themselves as someone with skills or
authority ,example a doctor ,lawyer ,investor.
After the internet became widely used ,new form of scams emerged such
as lottery scams ,scam baiting ,email spoofing ,phishing , or request for
helps .These are considered to be email fraud .Also see phishing ,scheme.

MEANING OF CYBERCRIMINALS
A cybercriminals is an individual who commits cybercrime ,where he or
she make use of the computer either as a tool or as a target or as both.
cybercriminals use the computer in three broad ways:
1. Select computer as their target:
These criminals attack other people’s computers to perform
malicious activities ,such as spreading viruses ,data theft ,and
identity theft.
2. Uses computers as their weapon:

They use the computer to carry out “conventional crime” ,such as

spam ,fraud ,and illegal gambling.

3. Uses computer as their accessory:

They uses computer to save stolen or illegal data.
Cybercriminals often work in organized groups .Some cybercriminals
roles are:

 Programmers
 Distributors
 IT experts
 Hackers
 Fraudsters
 System hosts and providers
 Cashiers
 Money mules
 Tellers
 Leaders

Clearly ,there is much between roles ,but as cybercrime becomes a greater

issues ,more specialization is been seen as organized crime gets in the
picture .For example ,hackers were once more open often than not hobbyist
who broke into systems for personal gratification .While white hat-hacking
hasn’t disappeared ,it’s much more common now to see hackers as
professionals who sell their services to the highest bidder.

Top Online Scams Used By Cyber Criminals To Trick You

  How to avoid falling even in their best designed trap.
 Cybercriminals affected the online business and individuals since the
internet networks first appeared and spread all over the world.
 Internet services an websites make it easy for us to pay bills ,shop ,make
online reservations and even work.
 And you can do any of this actions from any place in the world .Old
boundaries and human limitation were dropped ,in order for us to have
access in to almost any information ,our lives became more easier.
 But the same thing is true for crime .Our freedom to navigate and access a
wide number of online location represents in the same time a main
vulnerability because an open door always allows access in both directions.
 Criminals mine can reach these days further than before into our privates
lives ,our home and work office .And there is little we can do about it.
 Attacks method and tools vary from traditional attack vectors ,which use
malicious software and vulnerabilities present in almost all the program and
apps [even if the window operating system ],to ingenious phishing scams
deployed from unexpected regions of the world ,where justice can’t easily
reach out to catch the eventual perpetrators.
 The most common ways for you to become vulnerable to a malware attack
or phishing scam usually happen when you:
shop online
-check your email
-access social media networks
For this reason ,we need to know what are the most popular schemes and
techniques used by cyber criminals in order to obtain our private information
and financial data.
 We must not forget their final target is always our money and there is
nothing they won’t do to accomplish their mission .
 Here’s the top list of online scams to stay away from:
Phishing email scams
The Nigerian scam
Greeting card scam
Guaranteed bank loan or credit card scam
Lottery scam
Hitman scam
Romance scam
Fake anti virus software
Facebook impersonation scam[hijacked profile scam]
Make money fast scam[Economic scam]
Travel scam
Delivery scam
Fake news scam
 Phishing email scams
The activity of defrauding an online account holder of financial information by
posing as a legitimate company .

The Nigerian scams

Nigerian scam is one of the oldest and most popular online scamming techniques
used mostly by a member of a Nigerian family with wealth to trick different people
.Also known as “Nigerian 419”.The number 419 comes from the section of
Nigeria’s criminal code which banned the practice .

Greeting cards scams

This is another old scam :the greeting card that you receive in your email inbox
and seem to be coming from a friend .If you open such an email and click on the
card ,you usually end up with malicious software that is being downloaded and
installed on your operating system .The malware may be an annoying program that
will launch pop-up with ads unexpected windows all over the screen .

A guaranteed bank loan or credit card scam

Dificult times push people into getting trapped by ,too good to be true “bank offers
that guarantee you large amount”

Lottery scam

The lottery scam comes as an email message informing you that you won a huge
amount of money and all you need to do to collect your fortune is to pay some
small fees .
Hitman scam

One of the most frequent scams you can meet online is the “hitman” extortion
attempt .Cyber criminals will send you an email threatening you in order to obtain
money .This type of scam may come in various forms ,such as the one threatening
that they will kidnap a family member unless a ransom is paid in a time frame
provided by the scammers.

Romance scam

This scam takes place on social dating networks ,like facebook ,or by sending a
simple email to the potential target .The male scammers are often located in West
Africa ,while the female scammers are mostly from the eastern parts of
Europe .Cyber criminals have abused this scamming method for years by using the
online dating services .They improved their approach by testing the potential
victims’ reactions .

Fake anti-virus software

We all saw at least once this message on our screens: “You have been infected!
Download antivirus X right now to protect your computer!”.

Many of these pop-ups were very well created to resemble actual messages that
you might get from Windows or from a normal security product.
Facebook impersonation scam{hijacked profile scam}

Facebook is the most popular social media platform, hitting two billion of active
users per month. It’s also the channel where most of the brands and companies
communicate with customers and users, and promote their products. Facebook
represents a trustworthy channel for many users that they rarely check whether a
company page is trustworthy or not.

If most friends, colleagues and social connections are on Facebook, it is perfectly

normal for such a place to also attract the unwanted attention of online scammers.
Just imagine your account being hacked by a cyber criminal and gaining access to
your close friends and family.

Make money fast scams[Economic scams]

cyber criminals will lure you into believing you can make easy money on the
internet. They’ll promise you non-existent jobs, plans and methods of getting rich
quickly and money from official government sources.

It is a quite simple and effective approach, because it simply addresses one’s basic
need for money, especially when that person is in a difficult financial situation.

From this point of view, this scamming method is similar to the romance scam
mentioned above, where the cyber attackers address the romantic needs of the
victim.
The fraudulent posting of non-existent jobs for a variety of positions is part of the
online criminals’ arsenal.
Travel scams

These scams usually appear in the hot summer months or before the short winter
vacations, for Christmas or New Year’s Day.

The scenario is usually like this: you receive an email containing an amazing offer
for an extraordinary hard to get to destination (usually an exotic place) that expires
in a short period of time and you must not miss. If it sounds too good to be true,
it might be a travel scam, so don’t fall for it!

The problem is that some of these offers actually hide some necessary costs until
you pay for the initial offer. Others simply take your money without sending you
anywhere.

In such cases, we suggest that you study very well the travel offer and look for
hidden costs, such as: airport taxes, tickets that you need to pay to access a local
attraction, check if the meals are included or not, other local transportation fees
between your airport and the hotel or between the hotel and the main attractions
mentioned in the initial offer.

Delivery scams

Here’s another online scam happening frequently which infects users’ PCs with
malicious emails. A deliver scam is a spam email sent by attackers having a link
with a dynamically generated folder on the compromised server to provide the
content.
Fake news scam

The spread of fake news on the Internet is a danger to all of us, because it has an
impact on the way we interpret and react to information we found on social media.
It’s a serious problem that should concern our society, mostly for the misleading
resources found online, making it impossible for people to distinguish between
what’s real and what’s not.
Cyber crimes from the Islamic perspectives

Allah s.w.t has prohibited human from violating other people’s rights such as
distrust ,fraud and steal .This matter is clearly proved in the verses of al-Quran
which prohibit human to behave with bad moralities .It also contradicts the main
purpose of prophet Rasulullah s.a.w as the Messanger of Allah ,which is to provide
a living example of good moralities for human to follow Rasulullah s.a.w said “I
have been sent to compliment the good moralities”{Al-Baihaqi ,sunan Al-Baihaqi
al-Kubro ,no ,20571 ,Makkah Dar a-Baz ,1994}.On the other hand ,cyber crimes is
one of the problem that gains our concern in today’s cyber world .

It is essential for each one of us to hold in with the Islamic philosophy in our
daily lives .Allah has given clear guidance to us through the main references for
the human in each activities of lives ,including new issues that have risen
nowadays ,for instance the cyber crime .

Allah said in his novel al-Quran :

“And we have certainly sent down to you district verses and examples from those
who passed on before you and an admonition for those who fear Allah”.

{al-Nur ,24:34}
Among the bad moralities caused by cyber crimes are distrust ,fraud and
steal .They are discussed subsequently how to avoid bad moralities from Islamic
perspectives.
-Distrust

Maintaining trust is one of the good morality taught by islam .It refers to the act of
fulfilling the rights of all person entitled to receive it .It is one order from Allah
s.w.t which must be fulfilled by every muslim individu .Allah s.w.t mentioned in
surah al-Nisa, verse 58 : “Indeed ,Allah commands you to render trusts to whom
they are due and when you judge between people to judge with justice .Excellant is
that which Allah is instructs you .Indeed ,Allah is ever Hearing and Seeing”.

On the other hand ,cyber crimes involves with distrust which causes loss of
money or property.For example ,distrust in cyber crimes happens when a person
purposely reveals the confidential information which do not belong to him or her
such as pin number of credit cards or debit cards .Distrust is strictly prohibited by
Allah s.w.t stressed regarding this matter in surah al-Anfal ,verse 27:
“O you that believe !betray not the trust of Allah and the Messanger ,nor
misappropriate knowingly things entrusted to you”.

Additionally ,Rasul Allah s.a.w said :

“Whoever has{the following }four characteristics will be a pure hypocrite :If he

speaks ,he tells a lie ;if he gives a promise ,he breaks it ,if he makes a covenant he
proves treacherous ;and if he quarrels ,he behaves in a very
imprudent ,evil ,insulting manner [unjust].And whoever has one of these
characteristics ,has one characteristic of a hypocrite unless it gives it up”.
{Muslim ,Sahih Muslim ,no.58 ,Beirut :Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi,n.d}
-Fraud

Islam prohibits its followers to do any fraud in any circumstances .Fraud is one
of the mazmumah act and has significant impact on human morality .Therefore
every Muslim must avoid fraud .Nevertheless cyber crimes involves with fraud
which impact multiple parties .For example ,if a hacker managed to get the pin
number of an online banking account ,he or she will use the stolen pin number to
make transactions .However ,the money does not belong to him ,thus he is cheating
the person that accept the transactions .Also he or she will cause loss the owner of
the online banking accounts .Many verses of the al-Quran and Hadith that explain
this regard .Among them is in surah al-Baqarah ,verses 42 :

“And cover not truth will falsehood ,nor conceal the truth when you know{what it
is}”. {al-Baqarah 1:42}

Someone who cheats will receive bad punishment from Allah s.w.t .This is stated
clearly in his Word in surah Ghafir ,verses 28 .

“A believer ,a man from among the people Pharaoh who had concealed his
faith ,said : “Will you slay a man because he says ,My Lord is Allah ?-when he has
indeed come to you with Clear[signs] from your Lord ?and if he be a liar ,on him is
[the sin of]his lie :but if he is telling the Truth ,then will fall on you something of
the [calamity]of which he warns you:Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses
and lies !”
{Ghafir 40:28}

There is also a Hadith from Rasulullah s.a.w that warns the cheaters :
The prophet s.a.w came across a man selling dates ,and upon placing his finger into
the pot containing it ,he found that it was wet the top layer .He said ‘what is this’,O
owner of this food ?’.His response was ‘the sky has damaged it’{i.e the rain has
damaged some of my goods }.So he said ‘do you not place it at the top of this food
so that the people may see ?Whoever cheats me it not from me{or in another
narration :whoever cheats us is not one from us }’.

{Muslim ,Sahih Muslim ,no.101 ,Beirut :Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi.n.d}

The response I found to be answered by citizens through form online which I
provided:

1.what is crime?
30
26
25
20
15
10 8 9
values

5
0
on ud ng
ati fra e ni
rm in
e at
fo nl re
in o th
te s d
iva ve an
r vol ng
' sp in l lyi
in es bu
dm im
a cr
ck
ha
ne
eo
m
so
Response from citizens

26 people choose “crimes involves online fraud” as the answer of what is

crime .Beside that ,9 people agreed with the answer “bullying and threating” and 8
people choose “someone hack admin’s private information.
 2.How will you do to prevent your personal system being
hacked by irresponsible parties?
35

30 29

25

20
values

15

10
7 7

0
avoid from surfing install anti-virus do not place the correct
strange website personal information
Response from citizens

Mostly choose “avoid from surfing strange website” as much 29 people . “Install
anti-virus” and “do not place the correct personal information” recorded the same
values as much 7 people for the questions [How will you do to prevent your
personal system being hacked by irresponsible parties?]
 3.What is your opinion about cyber criminals and hacking activities
from islamic perspectives?
25

21
20

15
values

11 11
10

0
sinful and illegal tyrannicals and dreadfuls sinful because Islam strictly
acts prohibits human oppresion

Response from citizens

For this questions ,21 people gave their opinion saying that cybercriminals and
hacking activities were sinful because Islam strictly prohibits human
oppression .11 people choose “sinful and illegal” and also tyrannicals and
dreadfuls acts recorded the same values .
 4.In your opinion ,how can a human being be called this
hacker?
25
20
20
15 14

10 9

5
0
values

Response from citizens

 5.why hackers are negatively impacting the present and future
society?
30 28

25

20

15
10
10
5
5
values

0
rs e d
e ac ea
us rsp s pr
ia be id
e
ed t cy w
lm ou ar
e
ia ab
s oc t ce
g re ra
lin ec sg
ub g
s di
d
tro th
in an
ry n
e tio
ev m
a
g fa
a lin de
ve
re

Response from citizens

 6.what is your actions if you know the hackers who hacking
your personal system?
35

30
30

25

20
values

15

10
10

5
3

0
make a police report advice them hit them

Response from citizens

 7.In your ipinion ,what is the proper punishment that shuold be
imposed by irresponsible person?
25 23

20

15 14

10
6
5

0
ife d ty
rl ite cie
t fo m
m so
en co m
values

nm
e fro
ns ed
ris o off
e
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p
im th
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to
g
in
ord
a cc
t
os
ec
bl
on
as
re
a
at
ed
fin
i ng
be

Response from citizens

 8.State your gadgets that have been hacked by irresponsible
person?
30

26
25

20

15
values

15

10

5 4

0
hand phone laptop/computer tablet

Response from citizens