Cyber Crime
Chapter 17
Introduction to Criminal Justice 2003:
A Microsoft® PowerPoint® Tool
Slides prepared by:
Larry Bassi
SUNY Brockport
© 2002 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Computer Crime
• Acts that are directed
against computers and
computer parts
• Acts that use
computers as
instruments of crime
• Acts that involve
computers and
constitute abuse
Cyber Crime
• Crime that occurs on
the virtual community
of the Internet
• Cyberspace
environment makes it
difficult to identify and
prosecute those who
commit crimes there.
Cyber Crimes against Persons and
Property
• A challenge facing
the criminal justice
community is to
apply traditional law
to new kinds of
crime occurring in a
new kind of
environment.
Comparison of Physical v. Cyber
Stalking
• Similarities
– Most cases involve
former intimates
– Most victims are
women
– Most stalkers are men
– General motivation is to
control the victim
• Differences
– Physical stalking requires
both to be in same
geographic area
– Greater potential for
involving third parties
– Real confrontation is a
deterrent to physical stalking
but is not normally possible
in cyber stalking
Cyber Consumer Fraud
• Internet has increased the creative ways to
commit fraud
• Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) was
established in 2000
– 20,000 complaints in the first six months
• 25% referred for possible investigation
• Losses in 2000 estimated at $100 million
Fraudulent Activities Online
6,087 Complaints to the
Internet Fraud Complaint Center
Auction Fraud
Non-deliverable merchandise
Credit/debit card fraud
64.1%
Other confidence fraud
Investment fraud
22.3%
4.8%
Other
4.6%
1.2%
3.0%
Identity Theft
• Typically involves the theft of a form of
identification and use of it to access the
victim’s financial resources
• One of the fastest growing financial crimes in
America
• Up to 500,000 Americans are victimized each
year
Preventing Identity Theft
•
•
•
•
•
•
Only share information when necessary
Be cautious about providing identity information in public
Do not carry unnecessary identification in a purse or wallet
Secure your mailbox
Secure information on your personal computer
Shred all nonessential material containing identity
information
• Remove your name from mailing lists
• Review financial statements
Hacking
• In one national survey 85% of the companies
indicated breaches of computer security – a
percentage that is generally under reported
• Hacking incidents climbed from 9,859 in 1999
to 21,756 in the year 2000
• Costs to business are enormous – “I Love
You” virus caused an estimated $8 billion
dollars damage worldwide
Viruses and Worms
• A virus in a program
that infects other
programs
• A worm is a program
that copies itself
Why Cyber Crime Is Suited to
Juveniles
• The enormous
technological
capacities of personal
computers
• The anonymity of the
Internet
• The acceptance of
hacking in the youth
culture
Cyber Terrorism
Just as a real terrorist
might explode a bomb
to shut down an
agency, a cyber
terrorist might explode
a “logic bomb” to shut
down a central
computer.
Online Securities Fraud
“Pump and Dump”
– Schemes that fictitiously
increase (pump up) the
price of a stock so that
when it is high it may be
sold (dumped)
“Cybersmears”
– Schemes that fictitiously
disparage a stock in
order to drive its price
down.
Money Laundering
$
• Criminal seek to “launder” their “dirty” money by
moving through many bank accounts taking
advantage of a “blind spot” where bank officials are
not as aware of where the money is coming from or
where it is headed.
Intellectual Property Pirating
• Intellectual property
consists of the products
that result from intellectual,
creative process.
• Piracy is the unauthorized
copying or use of the
property.
• Items include things like
books, films, music and
software.
Pornography
• Online sex industry generates over
$1 billion annually.
• Internet is conducive to child
pornography because of its:
– Speed
– Security
– Anonymity
• Communications Decency Act
(CDA) passed in 1996
Cyberspace Gambling
• Challenge is how to
enforce gambling laws in
an online environment
• Anonymity of the internet
enables the young to
engage in gambling
• Questions of enforcement
jurisdiction arise (is it
where the bet was made or
where the bet was
received?)
Computer Forensics
• A new branch of forensic science that
has evolved to gather evidence of cyber
crimes
• The basic tool is software that allows
investigators to recreate the activities of
the target user
• Most major metropolitan police
departments, not hampered by
budgetary and manpower constraints,
have created special units to fight cyber
crime
The FBI and Cyber Crime
• FBI has taken the lead in law enforcement efforts
against cyber crime
• National Infrastructure Protection Center deals with
cyber threat concerning the country’s critical
infrastructure
• Along with the National White Collar Crime Center,
created the Internet Fraud Complaint Center in 2000
Freedom of Speech in the Cyber
World
• The issues of crime
control versus civil liberties
has been exacerbated by the internet.
The competing social interests have
demanded a balancing act from the law.
Privacy on the Internet
• The Internet by its very
nature makes invasions of
privacy easier to
accomplish.
• Congress passes laws to
prohibit some intrusions:
– Financial Services
Modernization Act
– Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act
Child Pornography and the Internet
• Child pornography on
the Internet takes two
general forms:
– illegal exposure to
children of sexual
images or invitations
online
– trafficking of photos
and video of children
engaged in sexual acts
• In 1998, the FBI investigated
nearly 700 cases. In 2000, the
figure had gone up to 2,856
cases.
• Child pornography is
international in scope. The
child pornography
organization known as the
Wonderland Club had over
200 members from 47
different countries
Innocent Images
• An FBI unit that focuses on
effort’s to apprehend
online pedophiles
• Agents “hang out” in chat
rooms posing as young
children or predators
• Prosecution rates for those
arrested by the unit in 95
percent
Child Pornography Prevention Act
• The act proceeds on
the premise that the
underlying idea is so
pathological that it
should be banned from
public discourse.
• Critics believe that it
creates a “thought
crime” in which a
person who has not
been engaged in actual
criminal activity can
still be convicted.