Running Head: DIGITAL COMPUTER CRIME

Digital Computer Crime

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Digital Computer Crime
The Major Categories of Computer Crimes
Computer crime covers an array of offenses executed using computers. The offenses are illegal
activities that entail the usage of electronic systems as the conduit of affecting the security of
computer data and computer systems. Various categories of computer crime have come up with
the advancement in technology. These forms of computer crime have cost many people of their
valuable information stored in their computers. The following is a description of the major
categories of computer crimes and their respective examples.
Computer fraud
Computer fraud is a computer crime that is increasing at an alarming rate. It entails any
fraud scheme that utilizes internet components such as e-mail, message boards, chat rooms, or
Websites to present fraudulent transactions or to convey the proceeds of fraudulent activities to
people connected with the scheme (Kunz & Wilson, 2004). An example of computer fraud is email fraud, a crime that is mostly associated with people from Nigeria. In this crime, the victim
receives an e-mail emanating from an alleged child of a deceased Nigerian tycoon who happens
to be the legatee of millions of money that is banked in secretive foreign bank accounts. All that
the sender usually requires is a legal fee amounting to thousands of money for the money to be
claimed, upon which it will be supposedly shared between the sender and the buyer. The victims
who fall prey to this form of computer crime always neither receive their share of the "claimed
money" nor the money they had sent to cater for the alleged legal fee.

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Phishing
Phishing is a computer crime that involves only theft of identity, which uses spoofed emails that are designed to bait recipients to fraudulent sites that trick them into divulging their
personal financial information. The information can include credit card personal numbers, bank
account names, and passwords or social security personal numbers (Kunz & Wilson, 2004). An
example of phishing is a customized e-mail of the e-bay site that is sent to unsuspecting e-mail
address. Such an e-mail contains a URL that is different from the official e-bay URL, but the
manner in which it is customized can lure a person into clicking it. The URL is usually a site that
has been designed by a Phisher to steal the victim's E-bay e-mail address, username, and
password. In such a case, the victim loses his or her details to the Phisher and can lose important
details and money.
Theft Computer Crime
Theft computer crimes in the world are rife. These crimes are usually diverse, and they
involve individuals who gain access to personal property or information by using computers. The
property can include programs, data, computer time, computer output, programs, or services. The
culprits who perpetuate this category of computer crime usually alter with the input or output of
a computer without the owner's authorization. The culprit then destroys or uses the proprietary
property or information as per their ulterior motive (Kunz & Wilson, 2004). An example of this
computer crime is internet piracy. Internet piracy occurs when an individual operates a "pay-foraccess" site that offers pirated software that have disabled copy-protection elements. People pay

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for the access and get the software free, which deals a blow to the proprietary owner or inventor
of such software in terms of business profitability and the culprit profiteers from it.

Unauthorized access
Unauthorized access amounts to electronic invasion or gaining of access to personal
resources through computer resources without authorization or permission. It stands as a
prerequisite to different computer crimes and fraud (Kunz & Wilson, 2004). One example of
unauthorized access is hacking. Hacking is the illegal practice of accessing a computer or
network without authorization.
The most common forms of digital crime
Hacking
Hacking has been rampant in the contemporary world occasioned by the steady advancement in
technology over the years. It exists in different faces, which include unauthorized accessing of
private sites, defacing, bombing, hijacking, and denial of service. Defacing is simply altering the
content's of someone's website whereas hijacking means redirecting someone elsewhere when
trying to access a particular website deliberately to alter the operations of the website. Bombing
is the act of overwhelming a particular site with many limitless messages to crash or slow down
the server. In denial of service, hackers through running programs send many requests to a site
concurrently and incessantly from many sources (Wall, 2007).
Pirating

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Today, the digital technology facilitates the illegal process of copying products such as
films and music. The internet provides a hub where the copied materials are circulated easily and
fast around the world. Thus, pirating is a digital crime that rakes in millions of dollars to the
perpetrators accounts occasioned by the increased broadband connections today (Wall, 2007).
The category of computer crimes that presents the greatest overall threat currently
Presently, unauthorized access is the category of computer crime that poses the greatest
threat. Hacking is the worst form of computer crime since it can cause important databases to be
accessed by fraudulent individuals. Financial institutions, schools, courts' databases,
governments databases are all potential victims of hacking (Kunz & Wilson, 2004). There have
been many cases of the institutions losing valuable information, money and passwords through
hacking, hence affecting the operations of these institutions. Thus, hacking is the greatest
computer crime that poses immense threats to the smooth operation of all societal institutions
and governments.
The roles and responses that the United States government, court systems, and law
enforcement agencies use in combating computer crimes
The United States Government
The Department of Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) that is
under the department of justice in the U. S is responsible for the implementation of national
strategies for combating computer crimes worldwide. Computer Crime and Intellectual Property
Section investigates, prevents, and prosecutes different computer crimes by working in tandem

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with the private sector, private sector, foreign counterparts and academic institutions (Reyes,
2007). The government works with high-tech companies to investigate any computer fraudulent
activities executed by cyber criminals.
Court systems and law enforcement agencies
The court systems and law enforcement agencies are responsible for prosecuting and
sentencing the guilty people of perpetuating computer crimes. In the U.S, the existent state laws
and federal laws punish the guilty ones regarding computer crime offenses (Reyes, 2007). The
cases of computer crimes vary in categories, and hence they are usually judged according to their
various categories.

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References
Kunz, M., & Wilson, P. (2004). Computer Crime and Computer Fraud (pp. 3-146).
Montgomery: Montgomery County Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission.
Retrieved from
http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/cjcc/pdf/computer_crime_study.pdf
Reyes, A. (2007). Cyber crime investigations: Bridging the gaps between security professionals,
law enforcement, and prosecutors. Rockland, MA: Syngress Pub.
Wall, D. (2007). Cybercrime: The transformation of crime in the information age. Cambridge:
Polity.

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