UAE cybercrime: Abu Dhabi study exposes six electronic blackmail tactics

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has warned of six main tactics that cybercriminals use to threaten and extort their victims online.

Punishments for cyber extortion or electronic blackmail can reach up to two years in prison and fines ranging from Dh250,000 to Dh500,000.

Six main tactics

1. Exploiting past relationships, where the perpetrator uses a previous relationship with the victim and their involvement in an embarrassing situation, threatening to publish photos or conversations between them.

2. Hacking personal accounts, where perpetrators hack the victim’s personal accounts and access personal data, threatening to publish it.

3. Extortion by recovering data, where the perpetrator retrieves phone data after it has been sold or stolen, threatening to publish it.

4. Chance-based extortion, where the criminal stumbles upon information that could harm the victim if published.

5. Extortion by revealing information, involving the disclosure of economic or commercial information that could harm the victim’s position and benefit competitors.

6. Extortion by association, where the perpetrator threatens to reveal suspicious past associations that could harm the victim and expose them to harm.

What is cyber extortion?

Cyber extortion, a form of blackmail, is defined as the use of electronic media and social platforms to threaten others with physical, psychological, or reputational harm. This includes damaging a person’s reputation through fabricated scandals, false accusations, and the release of personal secrets or information. The victim is often forced to pay money or comply with the extortionist’s demands under duress.

Latest survey

These findings were based on a research study conducted by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD), which launched a survey to measure public awareness of cyber extortion crimes. The survey covered nine areas, including public awareness of cyber extortion, personal opinions on the reasons for the spread of these crimes, the motivations behind the extortionist’s behaviour, legal ways to combat it, and whether respondents had ever experienced any form of cyber extortion. It also explored which social media platforms are most prone to extortion incidents, the forms of extortion from the respondents’ perspectives, and ways to reduce the spread of cyber extortion, as well as the awareness channels that help curb such crimes.

ADJD clarified that the crime of cyber extortion involves threatening and intimidating a person by publishing private photos, videos, or information in exchange for payment or forcing them to engage in illegal activities through social media. It also pointed out that cyber extortion crimes vary depending on the motive behind the act, whether it is financial, sexual, or for personal gain.

It explained that financial extortion involves forcing the victim to pay money in exchange for not disclosing secrets in the perpetrator’s possession. Sexual extortion involves forcing the victim to engage in or continue an illicit relationship, while extortion for gain occurs when the victim is threatened to perform acts that benefit the perpetrator or serve their personal interests, such as committing theft, promoting drugs, or obtaining sensitive information or important documents.

Fake friends

In their responses to the questionnaire in the mentioned study, a number of social workers and consultants specialising in family disputes indicated that the process of electronic blackmail often begins when the perpetrator establishes a friendship with the targeted victim. The communication then moves to video chat programs, where the blackmailer lures the victim into recorded conversations, whether audio or video, containing offensive or scandalous content about the victim. The blackmailer then threatens the victim, demanding money transfers or the disclosure of confidential information. In some cases, the blackmail may escalate to demands that violate honour, customs, and traditions, exploiting the victim’s ignorance of how to handle such situations.

Legal definition

Several legal experts and consultants in family disputes explained that the legal definition of blackmail is threatening a person to force them to take or refrain from taking an action. The goal is usually to coerce the victim into committing a crime or to obtain financial or moral gain. They emphasised that the UAE is committed to combating electronic blackmail by educating and raising awareness among citizens and residents through organising workshops, awareness campaigns, and conferences that warn of the dangers of electronic blackmail. These efforts also aim to educate people about the methods used by blackmailers and how to handle and confront them.

Penalty

Article 42 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 202 concerning the combating of rumours and cybercrimes stipulates that anyone who blackmails or threatens another person using an electronic network or an information technology tool to force them into action or inaction shall be punished with imprisonment for no more than two years and a fine of not less than Dh250,000 and not more than Dh500,000, or one of these penalties. The penalty is increased to imprisonment for up to 10 years if the threat involves committing a crime or dishonouring a person.