Oct. 25, 2022
Cybersecurity Awareness Month: What legal actions can you take against a phisher?
According to the , phishing is the fourth most common scam in Canada. If you participate in any type of online activity, you鈥檝e probably received a phishing method at some point.
But are there any legal actions you can take if you鈥檙e a victim of phishing?
Professor Emily Laidlaw is the Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity Law
According to , a professor at 抖阴APP导航 Law and a Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity, legal action against phishers is difficult simply due to the nature of the crime. Cyber criminals are hard to find, and if you can鈥檛 figure out who the culprit is, you can鈥檛 charge them with a crime.
鈥淭here are certainly cases of individuals convicted for fraud for sending phishing messages, usually for luring people to send money. Those cases are rare, and the best actions to take if you鈥檙e a victim of phishing is to contain the damage,鈥 explains Laidlaw. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e at work, contact your IT department. If there is money involved, contact your bank. Also contact the police to let them know it happened, as you鈥檙e likely not the only person who is a victim of the crime. The thing to remember is that we are all vulnerable to phishing attacks.鈥
If you鈥檝e been phished, it is also a good idea to contact the , as the phishing message could be considered an unsolicited commercial message and subject to Canada鈥檚 .
If a cyber criminal can be found, how does the law deal with them?
鈥淐yber criminals are mostly dealt with through the criminal justice system,鈥 says Laidlaw. 鈥淭here are a variety of offences in the Criminal Code that cover phishing, hacking, distribution of malware, denial-of-service attacks and identity theft.鈥