Lieutenant-Colonel Ali Hassan Al Kubaisi, Head of Economic crimes combating section at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ministry of Interior, yesterday said that the modes of cyber crimes were constantly changing with the advancement of technology and cyber-criminals were altering the shape of their crimes.
"Cyber crimes are taking advanced forms due to development in technology. The criminals also develop their crime style to meet ever developing technology," he said.
He said that fraud and blackmail were considered the most dangerous cyber crimes and hence were prompting lawmakers to give more attention to curbing them.
He said that Qatar had issued Law Number 14 of 2014 to curb cyber crimes.
"Qatar’s law has addressed all cyber crimes including blackmailing and fraud and covers aspects like international cooperation because cyber crimes are cross-border in nature."
The criminal may be in a country and the victim in another one. "Therefore the lawmakers made a special chapter for international cooperation that enables authorities to exchange information about criminals and victims with other countries," Al Kubaisi said.
Cyber crime also includes insults, defamation, blackmailing, and hacking of credit cards. "The criminals do not necessarily break the doors of your property like the past; they may attack or commit a crime from behind the screens sitting in Asia targeting the US."
He said that in case of lack of or non-cooperation between countries, it becomes difficult to take action against the culprits.
“Crimes like insult, defamation, and financial fraud have become the most rampant cyber crimes. In our region and the Arab world some people use social media just to insult other people because due to complexity of technology they think they cannot be easily caught or prosecuted or punished,” he added.
On famous mode of blackmailing generally employed by gangs, he said, is sending emails from fake ladies accounts like a friendship request and then cultivating friendly relations. "When other people under the influence of friendship share their pictures or videos with them, the blackmail starts," he added.
And sometimes such criminals secure personal pictures from lost or stolen mobile sets and use them as a blackmailing chip. "Last year we dealt with such cases."
