Cyber Crime a Rising Problem

Cyber Crime: Threats and Preventive Measures / Cyber Crime: A Rising Problem

Methods Used to Commit Cyber Crime

Methods Used to prevent Cyber Crime

The area of cybercrime is growing rapidly. An increasing number of criminal-minded individuals are taking advantage of the unrecognizability, speed, and convenience offered by the Internet, for perpetrating a variety of crimes, which know no bounds, either virtual or physical, causing grave harm and posing very real risks to victims across the globe. New cybercrime trends crop up every now and again, costing the world economy several billion dollars. Earlier, cybercrime was largely perpetrated by small groups or individuals. Of late, however, the world is witnessing extremely advanced cybercriminal networks that combine real-time efforts of individuals from all over the world to perpetrate web-based offenses on an extraordinary scale (Sundaram & Umarhathab, 2011).

Methods Used to Commit Cyber Crime

Criminal groups increasingly resort to the World Wide Web for facilitating their criminal activities and maximizing profits as early as possible. While the crimes aren't essentially new (fraud, theft, illegal gambling), they are developing consistent with online opportunities, and thus, are becoming more harmful and extensive. Fraud cases, for instance, range from stolen details of bank accounts to unwitting individuals voluntarily releasing money to cover expenses for lotteries they have supposedly 'won'. Scam emails in increasing numbers bombard every possible account, providing criminals the opportunity they hope to exploit. In view of the economic slump, society is seeking means to procure extra money to get by. Cyber criminals make the most of this crisis by establishing advance-fee credit programs, marketing a guaranteed loan or credit line after an upfront charge is paid. A detailed review of cybercrime methods is given below.

Lottery Fraud

This form of cybercrime constitutes only one of various forms of advance-fee scams, where criminals try to coax potential victims into paying advance fees or fairly small amounts of cash for any service they haven't sought. In lottery scams, perpetrators demand for money to be disbursed in order to receive a tremendous lottery. Quite often, the names of well-known institutions or corporations are cited for lending an impression of credibility to the lottery claim. Common media utilized by these scammers are cell phones, the Internet, and mobile devices (Interpol, 2015).

Scam Emails

Another name for this form of crime is 'phishing'. In a majority of cases, phishers dispatch spam emails to millions of email accounts. Each email comprises of what seems to be from a trusted, popular company. At times, recipients are directed via a link in the email to some spoofed web page. Just like the email, the site also appears to be genuine; in some cases, the site's URL is masked for the address to appear real. These sham websites encourage visitors to key in confidential information -- bank account numbers, social security numbers (SSNs), passwords, etc. Making the email as well as the corresponding website appear legitimate, phishers hope that a small number of recipients, at least, are tricked into disclosing confidential information (Norton, 2015).

Advance Fee Loan Program

Advance-fee credit card or loan frauds usually target individuals with low credit. Scammers may begin their attempt to hoodwink desperate customers by submitting a newspaper advertisement or launching a legitimate-looking website that offers lending services online. The ad may go along the lines of "Bad credit, don't fret -- get loans by calling (a certain number) or applying online). Consumers who venture to try it out get a prompt response telling them they qualified for the loan, but have to pay a certain sum for application processing, or as security deposit, or for insurance. Victims disburse money, but do not receive any credit card or loan (Schuette, 2015).

Methods Used to Prevent Cyber Crime