IT LAW

IT LAW. OFFENCES,JURISDICTION AND EXTRADICTION AND THE DOUBLE CRIMINALITY RULE ADMISSIBILITY OF COMPUTER EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.

OFFENCES. IN GHANA IDENTITY FRAUD = INVOLVES A PERSON WHO ASSUME A FAKE ONLINE ACTIVITY AND USUALLY CONTACT VICTIMS VIA SOCIAL NETWORKING AND DATING SITES. THEY USUALLY USE DOCTORED PHOTOS ,DIPLOMAS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS TO LURE VICTIMS TO SEND MONEY AND GIFTS. FAKE GOLD DEALERS = THIS FORM IS ALMOST AS THAT OF THE IDENTITY FRAUD AS THEY BOTH USE FAKE ONLINE PERSONAS BUT FAKE GOLD DEALERS TARGET INVESTORS LOOKING SHORT-TERM MONETARY GAINS BY OFFERINGCO-OWNERSHIP OF LUCRATIVE GOLD MINES IN GHANA. THE SCAMMERS USALLY SHOW PHOTOS OF GOLD BARS AND DOCUMENTARY OF MINING SITES TO HELP BOOST THE TRUST OF INVESTRORS AND WHEN THEY GET THE MONEY ,IMMEDIATELY CLOSE THE BUSINESS..

ESTATE FRAUD = THESE FRAUDSTERS SET UP A FAKE WEBSITES OFFERING LUXURY HOUSING FOR ESPECIAALY GHANAIANS LIVING ABROAD OR WILL OFFER TO CONSTRUCT HOUSES FOR THEM. THE SCAMMERS SELL BLUEPRINTS, LAND AND MATERIALS IN PROGRESSION TO THE VICTIMS AN DEXTRACT MORE MONEY FROM THE VICTIMS. BLACKMAIL = BECAUSE GHANA IS HOME TO A LARGE COLLECTION OF E-WASTE SUCH AS COMPUTERS , LAPTOPS, PHONES , BLACKMAILERS SEARCH THROUGH THESE ITEMS FOR SENSITIVE HARDDRIVES , THAT MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION TO BLACKMAIL VICTIMS. AN EXAMPLE IS WHEN AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE BY GHANAIN CYBERCRIMINALS TO BLACKMAIL A US CONGRESSMAN , ROBERT WEXLER UPON FINDING HIS HARDRIVE IN AN E-WASTE DUMPSITE..

STATISTICS = BETWEEN 2016 AND 2018 , GHANA LOST OVER $ 200 MILLION TO RECORDED CYBER CRIME CASES. ACCORDING TO THE POLICE SERVICE , MORE THAN HALF OF THESE REPORTED CASES WERE LINKED TO FRAUD. EXX LEARN ABOUT TYPES OF CYBER CRIME 10 MOST FREQUENTLY COMMITTED CYBER CRIMES NOTE : TAKE NOTE OF THE CYBERSECURITY ACT 2020 OF GHANA.

OFFENCES CONT.. COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK = "offences related to infringements of copyright and related rights." ACTS CAUSING PERSONAL HARM According to the 2013 UNODC Draft Cybercrime Study, "computer-related acts causing personal harm" include "the use of a computer system to harass, bully, threaten, stalk or to cause fear or intimidation of an individual".

IDENTITY OFFENCES financial (or economic) fraud, such as bank fraud, email fraud, and debit and credit card fraud, is also perpetrated online. For example, debit and credit card data that has been illicitly obtained is sold, shared, and used online. A 2018 international cybercrime operation led to the closure of one of the most well-known online illicit carding forums, Infraud , which sold and shared stolen credit and debit card data and banking information (DOJ, 2018).

FRAUD OR FORGERY Article 7 of the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention defines computer-related forgery as "intentional… and without right, the input, alteration, deletion, or suppression of computer data, resulting in inauthentic data with the intent that it be considered or acted upon for legal purposes as if it were authentic, regardless whether or not the data is directly readable and intelligible." Article 8 of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime defines computer-related fraud as "intentional… and without right, the causing of a loss of property to another person by…any input, alteration, deletion or suppression of computer data,…[and/or] any interference with the functioning of a computer system, with fraudulent or dishonest intent of procuring, without right, an economic benefit for oneself or for another person." This cybercrime is also prohibited under Article 11 of the Ar.

JURISDICTION. CYBERCRIME JURISDICTION IS ESTABLISHED BY OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS THE NATIONALITY OF THE OFFENDER (PRINCIPLE OF NATIONALITY, ACTIVE PERSONALITY PRINCIPLE), THE NATIONALITY OF THE VICTIM(PRINCIPLE OF NATIONALITY; PASSIVE PERSONALITY PRINCIPLE) AND THE IMPACT OF THE CYBERCRIME IN THE INTEREST AND SECURITY......

JURISDICTION IS SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY OF A NATION TO MAKE LAWS WHICH ARE ENFORCEABLE WITHIN ITS OWN TERROTORY (BRENER & KOOPS , 2004, P.5).