The Criminal Phenomenon on the Internet: Hallmarks of ... - uoltj

(2008) 5:1&2 UOLTJ 125<strong>The</strong> <strong>Criminal</strong> <strong>Phenomenon</strong> on the Internet 127<strong>The</strong> <strong>Criminal</strong> <strong>Phenomenon</strong> on the Internet:Hallmarks of <strong>Criminal</strong>s and Victims Revisited throughTypical Cases ProsecutedXingan Li1. INTRODUCTIONthe social changes of recent decades have been primarily driven by thedevelopment of information and communications technology. One of the mostsignificant negative impacts in this context is the emergence and rampancy ofcybercrime. Research on criminal activity related to information andcommunications technology has become a focus of study in the fields ofcriminology, criminal law and information security.Cybercrime is a comprehensive topic and attracts scholars from differentdisciplines. Many have written about the theoretical explanation for cybercrime.Studies of cybercrime have revealed different dimensions of this phenomenon.While the limited previous first-hand explorations have been widely acceptedand cited, inconsistencies exist among various studies. Unfortunately, in the fieldof cybercriminal and cybervictim profiling, most subsequent theoretical treatisestend to reinforce the earliest findings, or at most provide some modest revisions.It is critical to answer the following questions: Who is most likely tocommit cybercrime? Who is most likely to be victimized by cybercrime? Andwhat are the similarities between cybercrime perpetrators and their victims? <strong>The</strong>subject of cybercrime leads the tide of the theory and practice of legislation andlaw enforcement in the sense that the perpetrators are those who challenge thetraditional legal system. Studies on the subject of computer crime have a historyof several decades and have established widely-accepted profiles forcybercriminals and their victims.With the deepening of the research on cybercrime, lawyers and lawenforcement officials are paying increased attention to the hallmarks ofcybercriminals and the security of cybervictims. <strong>The</strong> purpose of this study is topresent an updated profile of cybercriminality and cybervictimization, throughthe analysis of 115 typical cybercrime cases prosecuted in the United States ofAmerica between 18 March 1998 and 12 May 2006, and published on theDepartment of Justice website.(2008) 5:1&2 UOLTJ 125