How does cyber technology impact interactions between offenders and victims?

Cyber technology has become an incredible tool that we have utilized to progress in many aspects of society. Unfortunately, wide-scale accessibility of cyber technology has also made it a tool for potential cybercriminals. Since we use cyber technology for so many things in our life, it means that a great deal of our information is stored on computers. Criminals seek to gain access to those computers to gain access to technical systems or to obtain critical information, such as addresses, credit card information, and social security numbers. While they try to obtain access or critical information, we have seen unique interactions between offenders and victims that we have not seen before with traditional crime. 

One unique interaction that we see is when offenders make use of certain social-engineering tactics such as phishing emails. Criminals may use emailing scams to persuade or trick individuals into giving up their log-in credentials or access to those computer systems, where after obtaining access they can install malware and further infect a computer. Smart phishing emails can look legitimate and often seem urgent so the victim is pressured into responding. Despite their legitimate appearance, these emails are sent from fake or “dummy accounts” and their source may be difficult to locate. 

Another interaction we see, thanks to wide-spread use of cyber technology, is that of cyber-harassment and cyber-stalking. Traditional harassment and stalking crimes can be reported to law enforcement, however cyber-harassment and cyber-stalking are much more difficult to report as laws are recent additions and “there is currently no consensus on a universal definition of either” (Hazelwood & Koon-Magnin, 2013). Offenders can message their victims, bullying them and instilling anxiety and fear without much repercussions. 

In both cases, anonymity makes narrowing down the source of these initial interactions difficult for law enforcement. Cybercriminals can use a variety of tactics to mask their locations and the source of their crimes, and cyber-harassment and cyber-stalking perpetrators can do the same by using fake profiles. As we continue to progress, we have to consider these potential interactions between offenders and their victims so that we can design and legislate solutions. 

Hazelwood, S. D., & Koon-Magnin, S. (2013). Cyber Stalking and Cyber Harassment Legislation in the United States: A Qualitative Analysis. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 7(2).