Electronic fraud bill gets a makeover |
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Published
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Mon, 30 May 2005 15:05
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The fraud bill covering electronic scams is undergoing an overhaul by the government, this means any swindlers who are caught making or having made phishing attacks could have to face imprisonment of up to 10 years.
The new fraud bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords on Thursday, will be altered in certain ways by the government to make it more clear and stringent.
According to the proposals suggested by the Home office, a fraud would be considered committed in case of dubious representation (phishing scams), or by concealing important information to benefit financially (lawyers hiding information), or by taking undue advantage of your position (withdrawing money from an aged person without his knowledge). Even those people who are found to attain services through dishonest ways, or owning fraudulent articles and indulging in fraudulent business will be punished under the new fraud bill.
| Fiona Mactaggart, Home Office minister informed, “The introduction of a general fraud offence will improve the criminal law in a number of respects. It will simplify the law, making it clearer to juries and the general public as well as making the prosecution process more effective by providing a clear definition of fraud. Our aim is to encompass all forms of fraudulent conduct, with a law that is flexible enough to deal with developing technology, allowing us to bring more offenders to justice.”
The ministry added that clauses in the bill had to be clarified and defined well enough to maintain its efficacy and prevent certain offenders from going scot-free on account of the bill’s vagueness.
Nevertheless, few security experts were not found to be very satisfied with the proposed changes. A chief analyst at security company MessageLabs, Paul Wood, believed that the technical obstacles surrounding fraudulent events had to be curbed by the government before updating any law. He was quoted as saying, “Any measure taken to update the law to address this form of criminal activity is to be welcomed. However, while legislative measures will act as a deterrent, it does not remove the need for technology solutions.”
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