Unstoppable messages... Theft of personal data and fraud messages are apparently not a crime

Ercan KÜÇÜK - 12punto.com.tr

Our personal data is constantly being stolen. Our stolen data returns to us in the form of promotional and fraudulent calls and SMS messages. Exhausted by the SMS messages arriving daily from unknown numbers and companies, lawyer Seval Duygu Akyıldız Kızılırmak filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office. The prosecutor's office decided not to prosecute, stating that 'you did not click on the link in the message'.

'IT DISTURBS PEACE, ENCOURAGES CRIME'

In her complaint to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Attorney Akyıldız stated that there might be negligence regarding the sharing of her phone number and email address by various banks, institutions, and organizations with other individuals and companies without her consent. In her complaint, Akyıldız pointed out that receiving such messages constantly disturbs her peace and tranquility, and that since the content of the messages involves registration for illegal betting sites, it also constitutes an encouragement of crime. In her complaint, where she also filed a grievance against GSM companies, Attorney Akyıldız stated the following:

“Although I have not clicked on any links sent via message, I am of the opinion that some of the incoming messages may be intended for fraud. Since I have not shared my personal data with these sites in any way, my personal data has been unlawfully obtained by these individuals. Although the messages belong to many different sites, it is clear that they intensify at certain times and are sent from similar numbers, and there is a possibility that the crime is being committed by an organized criminal group.

As explained above and for reasons to be considered ex officio by your prosecutor's office, in addition to filing a complaint against these individuals for the crimes they have committed, I am also filing a complaint against the DATA CONTROLLERS who shared my personal data with these individuals or failed to protect my personal data, and against the GSM OPERATORS who sold these lines to these individuals without any security measures.”

'YOU DID NOT CLICK THE LINK, YOU WERE NOT DEFRAUDED'

In its response, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that the complainant suffered no grievance because she did not open the links, and therefore the crime of fraud did not occur. Emphasizing that the crime of disturbing peace and tranquility did not occur in terms of its elements because all the incoming SMS messages came from different numbers, the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office decided not to prosecute. The decision of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is as follows:

"Although an investigation was initiated upon the complainant's petition addressed to our Prosecutor's Office stating that she had received numerous messages from different numbers on her mobile phone in the last three months, that the messages contained links, that she did not open these links but that her peace was disturbed, and that she wanted the institutions and companies that shared her mobile phone number with others to be identified and punished,

First of all, in the evaluation made regarding the alleged crime of fraud, considering that the complainant did not open the links sent to her as messages, it was concluded that the complainant did not suffer any grievance and therefore the alleged crime of fraud did not occur in terms of its elements; in the evaluation made regarding the crime of disturbing the peace and tranquility of the alleged individuals, it was noted that the numbers sending messages to the complainant were different numbers, that when the message contents were checked, it was not understood that they were acting solely with the intent to disturb the peace, that the condition of persistence was not met in the concrete case, and that the complainant had the opportunity to block the mobile phone numbers sending her messages, and accordingly, the alleged crime of disturbing the peace and tranquility of the individuals did not occur in terms of its elements,

IMPOSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY

In the evaluation made regarding the crime of Unlawfully Obtaining or Disseminating Personal Data, it was understood that the complainant works as a lawyer, and that it is technically impossible to determine which companies and institutions possess the complainant's mobile phone and which company or institution shared it with other individuals, and in this respect, it was concluded that the investigation should be terminated regarding the aforementioned crime as well.

For the reasons explained above, in accordance with Article 172 of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271, it has been decided that THERE IS NO ROOM FOR PUBLIC PROSECUTION, and that the decision shall be NOTIFIED to the complainant."

"THIS IS NOW EVERYONE'S PROBLEM"

Attorney Seval Duygu Akyıldız Kızılırmak evaluated the decision for 12punto. Emphasizing that she is just one of the SMS victims, Akyıldız said, “someone is being defrauded even right now.” Akyıldız stated the following:

“Everyone receives messages like this on their phones; our personal data, including our phone numbers, is being unlawfully obtained, disseminated, and used. This happens to everyone, and I am one of the victims. Messages about water purification, non-contract internet, etc., messages coming from WhatsApp claiming to be employees of well-known companies, calls threatening with terrorist organizations, and betting site SMS messages coming dozens of times a day under the name of many sites... Someone is being defrauded even right now, and even if they are not defrauded, they are exposed to another crime. When the messages that initially come as one or two start coming dozens of times day and night at the same time, the person loses their peace. With the development of technology, the way crimes are committed has changed in an unpredictable way in the laws. We are all victims, and although an investigation should have been carried out ex officio, especially regarding the violation of personal data, a decision of non-prosecution was made upon my complaint.

Furthermore, although a decision was made as if it only happened to me on the grounds that my personal data could be everywhere because I am a lawyer, this is now everyone's problem. No effective investigation is being carried out against these violations; it should be investigated who the numbers are registered to, if they are registered to foreigners or non-existent persons, the people who sell these numbers should be investigated, the websites and their owners should be investigated, and technical examinations should be conducted. Deleting these messages and blocking the numbers is not enough, and it will not be enough. Everyone who receives these messages and calls should file a complaint. The state needs to fight this situation effectively, protect individuals from becoming victims of crime, and protect people's rights.”

News Source: Ercan Küçük