Different Types of Cyber Crime

As Internet usage continues to rise throughout the world, the threat of cyber crime also grows. While some of these crimes are relatively harmless and commonplace, others are very serious and carry with them felony charges. Here are a few of the more common forms of cyber crime.

Spam

The most common type of cyber crime is spam. While email spam laws are fairly new, there have been laws on the books regarding "unsolicited electronic communications" for many years.

Fraud

Credit fraud is another common form of cyber crime. Certain computer viruses can log keystrokes on your keyboard and send them to hackers, who can then take your Social Security number, credit card number and home address. This information will be used by the hacker for his own means.

Cyber Bullying

Harassment, or cyber bullying, is a growing problem among teenagers. Many countries in Europe and several states in the United States have laws to punish those who consistently harass somebody over the Internet.

Drug Trafficking

Believe it or not, drug trafficking is happening over the Internet. Many traffickers use encrypted email or password-protected message boards to arrange drug deals.

Cyberterrorism

There are many forms of cyberterrorism. Sometimes it's a rather smart hacker breaking into a government website, other times it's just a group of like-minded Internet users who crash a website by flooding it with traffic. No matter how harmless it may seem, it is still illegal.

Piracy

Far and away the most talked about form of cyber crime is thievery. Yes, downloading music from peer-to-peer websites is illegal and therefore a form of cyber crime.

Resources

• Cybercrime