FRAUD WITH THE USAGE OF PLASTIC CARDS

ABSTRACT

The article reveals the concept of fraud, considers common methods of deception in the sphere of non-cash settlements with the use of bank cards. The authors considers the main provisions of the legislation in relation to Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

АННОТАЦИЯ

В статье раскрывается понятие мошенничества, рассматриваются распространенные способы обмана в сфере безналичных расчетов с использованием банковских карт. Авторами рассмотрены основные положения законодательства применительно к статье 159.3 УК РФ.

Keywords: fraud, bank cards, financial transactions, fraud, skimming, trapping, phishing.

Ключевые слова: мошенничество, банковские карты, финансовые операции, махинации, скимминг, траппинг, фишинг.

Quality and speed is the key to success in the age of information technology! These principles can be clearly seen in the banking sector. Currently Russia is one of the largest leaders in the sphere of non-cash transactions. The emergence of payment cards in our life with the help of which it is possible to easily and quickly deposit/withdraw money, pay for purchases in shops and online shops, make transfers to other countries, cities has greatly simplified the life of the average Russian, but the widespread use of payment cards has led to the emergence of fraud in this area.

Let us dwell on the concept of "fraud". It refers to a form of theft of property of various kinds, which is a way of taking over someone else's property by deception. It takes place through the use of opportunities provided by: the global network "Internet"; mobile phones; mobile banking; terminals for payment of services, etc.

Let's look at the most common methods of deception in the field of noncash payments using bank cards.  These include:

1. skimming - stealing plastic card details using a skimmer;
2. phishing - creation of fake websites of banks, online shops, where clients need to specify card details;
3. vishing - an analogue of phishing, the means of committing fraud are telephone conversations or SMS-messages, in which on behalf of the bank's security service are asked to provide information about the card;
4. trapping - installation of special devices on ATMs that hold bank cards [3, p.55].

Participants in cashless payments are becoming less and less trusting, while fraudsters continue to improve their data theft schemes. Phishing is one of the most common methods of fraud on the Internet. It is mainly used by criminals to gain access to online banking accounts or e-wallets with the further possibility of withdrawing funds to the fraudster's account. The user receives a phishing message in their inbox. For example, it may be a notification about account hacking with a further offer to follow a phishing link and enter authorization data. The user goes to the provided resource and "passes" his login and password to the fraudster, who, for his part, quickly processes the information received.

Vishing is a type of phishing. A user receives a phone call, for example, from a bank employee, and the operator warns him that his bank card will be blocked, including its number, CVV- code, etc., if full information is not provided over the phone right away. The client starts to panic and gives out all personal data.

Another type of fraud using communication services is smishing. The criminal scheme is aimed at getting the user to click on a malicious link from an SMS message. The message may take the form of a notification from a wellknown bank, a familiar company or may be information about a sudden lottery win, etc. In the case of an SMS message, the trick is harder to detect than in email phishing because the messages are short and do not contain much information.

Recently, a new type of fraud - pharming - has become widespread. Its basic principle is to secretly redirect users to unauthorised sites. The main feature of pharming is the non-obvious replacement of the original site with a fraudulent one, allowing the attacker to obtain confidential user data. All this is done by using the DNS cache on the end user's device or on the ISP's network equipment. Usually pharming is applied to online banking or other payment systems through which monetary transactions are made [1, p.54].

Skimming is a method used by criminals to obtain information from a cardholder. Fraudsters can use several approaches to obtain card information with the most advanced approach using a small device called a skimmer. This criminal method allows identity thieves to collect information from the cardholder that can be used for fraudulent transactions. Skimming technology is becoming more sophisticated every year, which makes it difficult to combat this type of fraud [2, p. 7].

Let us consider the regulatory framework governing liability for offences committed with the use of payment cards.

In connection with the spread of electronic payment systems among citizens, on 29 November 2012, a new type of crime was included in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - "fraud with the use of payment cards" (regulated by Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). It implies theft of other people's property committed with the use of forged or belonging to another person credit, payment or other payment card by deceiving an authorized employee of a credit, trade or other organization. The use of payment card for committing unlawful acts of embezzlement of other people's money is its specific feature. At the same time, according to the norm, this process should not be accompanied by violence (causing harm to life and health), otherwise it will be classified as a more serious offence, respectively, with a different punishment.

Offences such as obtaining other people's funds by taking possession of bank card/bank card data and obtaining credit cards issued by a financial institution should not be confused. The latter would refer to credit fraud and be governed by Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. However, if such a credit card is fraudulently obtained by a fraudster and any payment transactions or transfers are made using it, this offence will be classified under Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. 

Other components of such an offence as payment card fraud are: 

• achievement of 16 years of age by the person who committed the unlawful act; 
• infliction of damage to a private person - the owner of the payment card; 
• the presence of malicious intent to seize money with the use of a payment card.

It should also be noted that in order to classify the offence as fraud with the use of payment cards, it is necessary for the offence to be complete. For example, a passer-by found a wallet on the street, in which there was a payment card and a sheet with the pin-code written on it. Like any good citizen, he should take the find to the bank, but if he starts to make any transactions on it, this fact cannot be classified under Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the RF, as the card was not obtained fraudulently, and there was no malicious intent.

During investigating a criminal case, the investigator may face a number of problems, but many of them can be avoided if a prompt response to a reported offence is made. Investigative practice shows that initially the fact of debiting money is discovered by the victim, after a certain period of time after the actual commission of fraud [4, p. 195]. Quite often victims lose precious time for law enforcement officers, trying to independently deal with the fact of unlawful debiting of funds, requesting the history of money transfers in the credit organization.

Thus, payment cards, although vulnerable to fraudulent attacks, are a very convenient means of payment. Their widespread use should be combined with the creation of an effective management system, regulatory and legal support and accountability for illegal actions with bank cards, as well as the formation of a culture of using bank cards, ensuring the safety of funds. An important element is to ensure security and equal access to the information space of citizens involved in certain banking operations. This should result in the creation of a socio-cultural environment opposed to all types of bank card fraud and stable socio-economic development.

References:

1. Grosheva E.V. The practice of combating fraud in the banking sector // Science through the prism of time. – 2018. – No.11. – pp. 54-57.
2. Kozodaeva O.N., Obydennova A.S. Methods of committing fraud using bank cards // Scientific notes of the Tambov branch of RoSMU. – 2019. – No.13. – pp.7-10.
3. Sazonov M.M. Types of fraud with bank cards and improvement of victimological prevention measures // Victimology. – 2018. – No.2. – pp.55-59.
4. Starichkov M.V. Initiation of criminal cases of fraud using payment cards // Criminalistics: yesterday, today, tomorrow: a collection of scientific papers. – Irkutsk: East Siberian Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 2015. – pp. 195-199.
5. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of 13.06.1996 N 63-FZ (ed. from 08/04/2023) (with amendments and additions, intro. effective from 12.10.2023). // [Electronic resource]. — Access mode: URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_10699 / (accessed 09.12.2023).