Most Typical Cybercrimes 2
Most Typical Cybercrimes
Traditional definitions of cybercrime projected on the use of computers and Internet
technology in perpetuating illegal activities. With the continued advancement in technology,
this definition has broadened to incorporate phones and other devices that can successfully
connect to the Internet. Cybercriminals gain access to private information, communication,
impersonation, and other illegal activities. The most common forms of cybercrime include
phishing, identity theft, online harassment, cyberstalking, and the invasion of privacy.
Phishing defines the mimicry of legitimate websites with false ones in an attempt to
gather information for malicious courses. In many cases, phishers create websites that are
similar to email addresses and home pages of community sites. As individuals sign into such
sites, their private information gets captures and later used by the criminals. This is most
commonly perpetuated alongside identity theft where criminals gain access to private
information and impersonate the owners.
Common cases of identity theft include credit card
fraud and bank account thefts.
Cyberstalking and the invasion of individual privacy also relate in various ways. In
cases of invasion of privacy, many trusted individuals abuse such trust and proceed to access
their victim’s private information. Subsequently, they perpetuate the other forms of
cybercrime including identity theft and phishing. Such may include the hacking of an
individual’s personal computer or databases of institutions. When an individual obsessively
follows someone online with malicious intentions, the activity is referred to as cyberstalking.
Akhgar, Babak, and Ben Brewster. Combatting Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism:
Challenges, Trends and Priorities. Switzerland: Springer, 2016.
