7 measures to confront “electronic blackmail”

The Legal and Community Awareness Center called for “responsibility” to confront the crime of electronic blackmail through seven measures, which are: not trying to persuade the perpetrator to carry out his threat, not going along with his requests or responding to him, taking the matter seriously on the part of the head of the family when he learns that one of its members is being exposed to blackmail, and closer consultation. People to provide support and advice, prevent the perpetrator from following the victim’s accounts by blocking him, changing all passwords for the accounts, saving all personal threatening messages to the subject of blackmail, in addition to not remaining silent, and informing the police authorities via “Aman” hotline.

In detail, the Abu Dhabi Center for Legal and Community Awareness “Responsibility”, affiliated with the Judicial Department, is implementing an expanded awareness campaign on the dangers of “electronic blackmail”, which will continue until the end of this November, with the aim of spreading legal awareness among segments of society about the dangers of the crime of electronic extortion.

The Center stressed its keenness to inform members of society of the most important warnings that people must pay attention to when dealing with the Internet, to ensure the safe use of technical means of various kinds, and to avoid any attempts that might endanger the safety of individuals or make them victims, or anything that might lead to committing acts of aggression. It may expose them to legal accountability.

The Center indicated that the methods used to commit the crime of electronic blackmail include exploiting previous relationships, where the perpetrator takes advantage of the previous relationship with the victim and gets involved in a shameful situation with him, possessing pictures or conversations between them and threatening to publish them, and hacking personal accounts through the perpetrators hacking the victim’s personal accounts, and obtaining Personal data and information and threatening to publish it, blackmailing to recover data by recovering phone data or content after selling or stealing it, and threatening the victim to publish it.

“Responsibility” warned that the means of blackmail also include blackmail by divulging information, and it depends on divulging economic or commercial information related to the victim’s status or position, and publishing what harms him and strengthens the positions of competitors, and blackmail by participation, through the perpetrator threatening the victim by revealing previous suspicious connections that existed between the two parties. And revealing anything that offends the victim and exposes him to harm, in addition to coincidence. This type of blackmail depends on the criminal accidentally stumbling upon some information that may harm him. The victim posted it.

“Responsibility” pointed out that Article (42) of Federal Decree Law No. (34) of 2021 regarding combating rumors and electronic crimes stipulates that he shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years and a fine of not less than 250 thousand dirhams and not more than 500. One thousand dirhams, or one of these two penalties, whoever blackmails or threatens another person to force him to do or abstain from doing an act, using an information network or One of the means of information technology. The penalty is increased to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years if the threat is to commit a crime or attribute matters that are dishonorable or disgraceful, and this is accompanied by an explicit or implicit request to do or refrain from doing something.