The number of Internet users in India has been on the rise in the recent past and so has been the number of cyber crime cases. Every good thing comes with its own set of perks. The more we minimise these perks, the better experience we can get from any entity. Internet's importance in today's world needs no mention, everyone is aware of its seemingly endless usages. With its seemingly endless usages comes a seemingly endless world of cyber crimes. From risking human lives to fraudulently duping billions of money, criminals have found a way to execute all their evil crimes online. A little in-depth knowledge can make anyone capable of hacking into someone else's personal systems.

Victims of cyber crimes are mostly unaware of what is to be done after they've fallen prey to some evil trap online. The only things that can help them get justice are potential digital evidences. In the court of law, digital evidences are the only way how a victim can prove the cyber crime he/she has fallen prey to. However, not many people are aware of what exactly is included under digital evidences and to what extent it can be used in the court of law against cyber crimes. To explain the entire role of potential digital evidences in cyber crime investigation, we have come up with this little extract that tries to make digital evidences more potent in helping out cyber crime victims.

What Is Digital Evidence?

Before understanding anything else, we first need to understand what a potential digital evidence actually is. Any piece of evidence that is stored or transmitted in a digital form and can be used to prove a point is termed as a digital evidence. These include ATM transaction logs, video or audio evidences, computer printouts, computer backups, CCTV footages, databases, browser history, phone records, GPS location, e-mails, and everything else that has digital background. Just like any other evidence, the authenticity of digital evidences too needs a check. For checking the authenticity of potential digital evidences, digital forensic experts are referred. Based on what the digital evidence is, the court has the right to decide whether an original is required or a copy will be enough. In case of cyber crimes, it is most likely that digital evidences become the only solid proof as every step of the crime committed involves the usage of a computer.

What Is Their Role In Criminal Investigations?

A cyber crime cannot be committed without the usage of a computer system and at most times, Internet. Thus, the role of digital evidences in cyber crime investigations becomes the most important thing. It involves no physical evidences or eye witnesses, all it has for a record are digital logs and reports that are capable enough of rewarding justice to the victim. In case of an online fraud or scam through a phishing mail, the victim has to present a printout or the mail to the court of law which gets authenticated through the digital forensic laboratories before being considered as a digital proof. Once authenticated, further investigations are carried out and the criminal is traced by tracing the sender's IP address. Thus, from proving the crime to executing the criminal, digital evidences play a key role throughout the investigation of a cyber crime case.

Are Digital Evidences Reliable?

The biggest concerns with digital evidences are their vulnerability of being tampered easily. This doesn't hamper the reliability of digital evidences by any means. However, this gives a chance to the culprits to plot another plan and escape unscathed. In a recent case of online sexual abuse, the victim had presented proper digital evidence of the text/mail sent from the culprit that contained abusive messages initially. However, in the later hearings, the culprit tampered with the evidence and presented his side of digital evidences which showed that the messages were never sent. The victim ended up getting charged for filing a false case against a respected individual. This draws a big question mark on the credibility of digital evidences. Are they worthy of deciding justice for someone? Probably the answer still remains yes given they are the only way of proving a cyber crime. In the case discussed, it became difficult for the court to decide which digital evidence was real. There was another record of the conversation and that was with the service provider. Had the victim asked the court to extract that detail, the result could have easily been so different and that detail would most probably had been the original one. Thus, the court of law has formulated another set of instructions which are supposed to be followed before presenting the digital evidence. Anyone found presenting a manipulated digital evidence or is found tampering any digital evidence gets charged with Section 204 of the IPC and Section 65 of the ITA 2000/8 for destruction of evidence.

The final conclusion that can be drawn from this case is the fact that potential digital evidences are much more reliable only if used in a proper manner. The American Law Reports lists out a few proponents that help make the role of digital evidences more potent. It states "the reliability of the computer equipment", "the manner in which the basic data was initially entered", "the measures taken to ensure the accuracy of the data as entered", "the method of storing the data and the precautions taken to prevent its loss", "the reliability of the computer programs used to process the data", and "the measures taken to verify the accuracy of the program" should all be taken into consideration while involving a digital evidence into any criminal investigations. A few guidelines have also been laid by some top nations to ensure the reliability of digital evidences. The UK ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) Guidelines help them affirm the integrity and authenticity of any digital evidence.

Tampering with any digital evidence is considered to be a cyber crime. In India, the scenario is much more different than UK. Most of the people are hardly aware of the IT Act or what a cyber crime actually means. This renders the potential digital evidences more vulnerable and a bit useless for majority of India's population. To make the role of potential digital evidences more significant, it is necessary to spread cyber security awareness amongst the Indian masses to tackle cyber crime with relative ease.

Indian Cyber Army (ICA) aims at building a digital environment safe for everyone who enters it. It tries to spread cyber security awareness through its various programmes that educate people about all the cyber threats prevalent in the digital world. Anyone who falls victim to any cyber crime can easily reach out to ICA for help through their 24x7 cyber crime helpline number. Their highly skilled professionals remain available to help out everyone who reach out to them through their cyber crime helpline numbers.

How To Protect Yourself Against ID Theft

ID theft is one of the major cyber threat now a days because all Important work is done with the help of ID. ID fraud, otherwise called character misrepresentation, is a wrongdoing in which a sham acquires key bits of by and by identifiable data, for example, Social Security or driver's permit numbers, with a specific end goal to imitate another person.

The data can be utilized to get credit, stock and administrations for the sake of the casualty, or to give the criminal false certifications. Notwithstanding running up obligation, in uncommon cases, a sham may give false recognizable proof to police, making a criminal record or leaving exceptional capture warrants for the individual whose personality has been stolen.

Types and example of ID theft

Wholesale fraud is ordered two ways: genuine name and record takeover. Genuine name fraud implies the criminal uses individual data to open new records. The criminal may open another Visa account, build up PDA administration or open another financial records with a specific end goal to get unlimited free passes.

                                                    

Record takeover ID fraud implies the sham uses individual data to access the individual's current records. Regularly, the cheat will change the street number on a record and keep running up an immense bill before the individual whose character has been stolen acknowledges there is an issue. The web has made it less demanding for a character cheat to utilize the data they've stolen, in light of the fact that exchanges can be made with no individual communication.

• Expense related fraud, where a hoodlum documents a false government form with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) utilizing a stolen Social Security number.

• Medicinal ID fraud, where a hoodlum takes data, including health care coverage part numbers, to get therapeutic administrations. The casualty's medical coverage supplier may get the false bills, which will be reflected in the casualty's record as administrations they got.

• Youngster ID fraud, where a kid's Social Security number is abused to apply for government benefits, open financial balances and different administrations. Youngsters' data is frequently looked for after by lawbreakers, as the harm may go unnoticed for quite a while.

• Senior ID fraud, where a senior is the objective of a personality hoodlum. Seniors are regularly in contact with restorative experts and protection suppliers, and might be accustomed to giving out their own data. They may likewise not be as mindful of the defrauding techniques cheats use to take their data.

ID theft procedures

In spite of the fact that a character cheat may hack into a database to get individual data, specialists say it's more probable the criminal would acquire data by utilizing out-dated techniques. Dumpster plunging, or recovering individual printed material and disposed of mail from open junk dumpsters and the waste of organizations, is one of the most effortless courses for a character hoodlum to get data. Beneficiaries of preapproved charge card applications frequently dispose of them without destroying them to start with, leaving personality cheats allowed to endeavor enacting the cards and utilizing them.

Another mainstream technique to get data is shoulder surfing: The character criminal just stands beside somebody in an open scene, such the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and sees as the individual rounds out individual data on a shape or passes on it finished the phone.

Phishing and spam email are utilized as strategies for deceiving individuals into presenting their data to character criminals taking on the appearance of honest to goodness money related elements, a partner the beneficiary trusts or a person who makes financial guarantees in return for data. The email may contain connections bearing malware intended to take individual information or connections to false sites where the individual would be provoked to enter their data.

Instructions to tell if your ID has been stolen

Here are some notice signs that a man might be a wholesale fraud casualty:

• Casualty sees withdrawals from their financial balance that weren't made by them.

• Casualty doesn't get bills or other essential bits of mail containing touchy data.

• Casualty finds false records and charges on their credit report.

• Casualty is rejected from a wellbeing design in light of the fact that their restorative records mirror a condition they don't have.

• Casualty gets an Internal Revenue Service notice that another assessment form was recorded under their name.

• Casualty is advised of an information break at an organization that stores their own data.

In the event that a man has lost or has had his wallet containing bank cards, driver's permit and different types of ID stolen, it is conceivable their data may wind up being utilized to confer ID fraud.

How to recover your stolen ID

Contingent upon the kind of data stolen, the casualty should contact the suitable association - the bank, Mastercard organization, medical coverage supplier or the IRS - and illuminate them of the circumstance. The casualty should demand to have their record solidified or shut to anticipate additionally charges, claims or moves made by fakers. The ID fraud casualty should document a grievance with the Federal Trade Commission and illuminate one of the three noteworthy credit authorities - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - keeping in mind the end goal to have an extortion alarm or record solidify set on their credit records.

On the off chance that somebody's close to home data was traded off in an information rupture, they ought to catch up with the organization dependable to perceive what sorts of help and assurances it might have set up for casualties and their information.

Preventing ID Fraud

To avoid ID fraud, specialists suggest that people

• Routinely check acknowledge reports for significant credit authorities,
• Focus on charging cycles and catch up with leasers if bills don't land on time.
• Moreover, individuals ought to pulverize spontaneous credit applications,
• Look out for unapproved exchanges on account proclamations,
• Abstain from conveying Social Security cards or numbers around.
• Not give out any individual data in light of spontaneous email.
• Do not respond to spam email.

About Indian Cyber Army

Indian Cyber ​​Army will get you Aware from Cyber ​​Crimes Which is called Cyber ​​Crime Awareness. All types of tips will be explained in cyber awareness. If you want to get this audience session. So you can take this information on our website. The Indian Cyber ​​Army is going to open this session very soon. Victims of cyber crime can call us on our Cyber ​​Crime Helpline number (99 68600000).