Computer-based Crime

Computer-based Crimes

Introduction

Internet fraud includes a wide range of illegal behaviors in which various facets of the Internet play an integral role in the transmission of intentionally deceptive and/or false representations for personal or organizational gain (Holtfreter and Ehlen, 2005). Acts of Internet fraud typically involve the transfer of currency, goods and services, or personal and intellectual property across this interconnected set of computers  via applications, including the World Wide Web, email, chat rooms, or software (e.g., online gaming). Rather than being perpetrated face-to-face, Internet fraud is usually perpetrated through lines of network communication that serve to spatially separate the offender from the victim (McQuade & Sampat, 2008).

The Nature of Internet Fraud

Most acts of Internet fraud involve the use of deception or false claims that serve to make the behaviors illegal under most circumstances. The legality of Internet fraud is also likely to vary across jurisdictions, especially transnationally. For example, Internet conduct or business dealings considered lawful in Barbados may be deemed illicit in the United States. Describing the nature of Internet fraud is largely a subjective endeavor and entirely contingent on both the circumstances of the crime and the jurisdiction under which the act takes place (Rantala, 2005). Some of the most widely cited types of Internet fraud common to the United States include the following:

Advance fee scams

Offenders promise to disburse significant monetary payoffs to unsuspecting consumers who are to receive such funds after making advance payments of smaller sums of money to the offender. While any number of story lines may be used as a backdrop for an advance fee scam, money is essentially transferred or given to perpetrators under the false promise that they will compensate the consumer at a higher rate in the future. Included in these scams are job offers, inheritance offers, money offers, prize, sweepstakes, lottery offers, and sweetheart swindles (McQuade, 2009).

Credit card fraud

Many Web sites often require consumers to share credit card information at a variety of locations on the Internet to obtain access to the sites' restricted content, or for the purchase of various goods and services. Offenders involved with these sites may then use transferred consumer credit card information for purposes other than those intended by the consumer (McQuade, 2006).

Fake check scams

Offenders fraudulently claiming to be legitimate consumers may overpay unsuspecting individuals with counterfeit checks for goods and services purchased. In turn, offenders will ask the seller to send or wire the overage amount back. The counterfeit check will then bounce, and the seller could potentially lose the product, purchase price of the product, and overage amount from the check as well (Rantala, 2005).

Identity theft

Identity theft can be perpetrated in many ways, but it generally occurs when offenders obtain access to an unsuspecting individual's personal information and identification, via the Internet, with the intention of using it for personal or organizational gain (McQuade, 2006).

Investment scams/Ponzi schemes

Consumers are lured by falsely advertised claims of little-to-no risk and large returns on particular investment opportunities. Once consumers pay to invest in ...