Examples of Cyber Crime

Cybercrimes are criminal acts that use the computer or the Internet. These types of crimes are prevalent in our modern technological society and they're becoming more high profile as a greater number of serious crimes are committed.

The U.S. Department of Justice recognizes three types of cybercrimes: those that use the computer as a weapon, those that use the computer as an accessory to a crime, and those that make the computer a target of a crime. Most crimes are traditional in nature and use a computer or the Internet to break the law.

The Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act was introduced in Congress in 2008 and it provided that players can participate in skill games, such as mahjongg and poker, but not in pure luck games. Numerous legal gambling sites have sprung up on the Internet in more recent years all the same, allowing fans to wager on sporting events and horse racing. These are largely governed by state, not federal law.

Gambling is generally prohibited online unless you're physically located in a state that allows it. A player cannot legally gamble in any state if he's younger than age 21.

Some criminals use the Internet to break into victims' online financial accounts, taking passwords, money and other sensitive information. Others create online centers for trafficking stolen identity information. The number of identity theft victims has risen with more and more people conducting business online and using the Internet to pay bills. Those who use birthdays, their children’s names and pet names as passwords are typically more at risk for identity theft.

Criminals and pedophiles often use the Internet to obtain and transfer illegal images, such as child pornography. Even storing and saving these types of images on a computer is illegal. Other criminals use their computer databases to store illegal information, including confidential intellectual property.

Computer hackers are digital-age criminals that can bring down large infrastructures with a single keystroke that emits a computer virus. These types of viruses are macro or binary. Macro viruses attack a specific program, while binary viruses attack data or attach to program files.

Hacking into a business’s intranet and uploading viruses to the code are examples of these types of crimes. Private citizens are targets of computer viruses when they visit websites with encrypted viruses or open emails infected with viruses. One of the most infamous computer viruses is the Trojan virus. But security software is plentiful and you can install a program to protect your computer, at least from known bugs.

Many criminals easily commit fraud against unsuspecting victims in the digital age by misrepresenting the facts. For example, an employee might intentionally input false information into a company database or intranet. Or consider the "Nigerian prince email," where an online predator attempts to steal money from targeted consumers by gaining access to a shared bank account.

Cyberbullying has gotten a great deal of press, particularly when young victims attempt to harm themselves or commit suicide in response. It's not limited to the Internet and social media sites, although attacks in this venue are common, Messages might come via text or through apps. They might include comments like, "You're so ugly and stupid, you should just kill yourself." Although cyberbullying is considered to be a trend among teenagers and older children, adults have gotten involved as well.

All states have laws against bullying and many are updating those laws to include cyber-attacks.