Cyber crime is a very popular yet controversial crime. Many people thinks that technology is vital. They are too indulged in the convenience brought by technology, and many of them claim that they could not live without electronic devices. However, they are not aware of the fact that the Internet can also be a crime scene too, and substantiality is not necessary. Cybercrimes can be committed via many different means including every electronic devices you can use in your daily life: computers, hard disk drives, tablets, smartphones, etc. It just can happen in anywhere and at any time.
People often commit cyber crimes in groups, sharing certain strategies and skills on how to ‘attack’ targets and computer systems. They like to hack into victims’ accounts so that they can control over their devices and steal their personal details such as bank account password, undercover documents and photos that can be used to intimidate the owner for money or otherwise they would be revealed to the public. Through network they can commit crime anonymously, not necessarily in person, and that is why tracking cyber-criminals can be so difficult.
IP address is an identity to trace the location of computer users. However, it is very difficult in fact for the government can trace the criminals if he is in another country. The law-enforcement agents in the country in which the criminal is located may not cooperate to help arresting him if there are no memorandums signed between the two countries in hunting down criminals together for that particular crime.
Online shopping is a very typical example. It is not uncommon that we buy a product online because the product is out of stock in retail shops or simply it is more convenient to do so. However, we cannot avoid the risk that the product is not genuine. Alibaba, a renowned e-commerce company in China, was sued by Gucci for selling counterfeit goods in May (BBC, 2015). As merchants care about profit, they can hardly disburse a large amount of money to monitor the great number of e-shops to ensure no counterfeit products are sold under their companies’ names. Although some may suggest products reviews can help avoid the risk of buying fake goods, the fact is that fake reviews also exist. Amazon, a renowned worldwide online shop, in October, sued over 1,000 sellers for fake product reviews (Wattles, 2015). Internet fraud, in fact, is ubiquitous.
Since cybercrime have become more prevalent, the government is enacting stricter legislations to prevent cyber crimes and heavier punishments to convict cyber criminals. Cyber crimes are governed under Computer Misuse Act 1990 and in May, government modified the maximum prison sentence in the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to life sentence to further suppress cyber crimes (New Laws Include Life Sentence and Hanging for Cyber-crime, 2015). If the crime involves serious damage or threatens national security, life imprisonment may be given (Legislation.gov.uk, 2015). Through the new amendment, the government gives adequate power to law enforcement agencies to prevent cyber crimes so that potential offenders can be deterred from committing them. Every coin has two sides. Advanced technology can benefit people, but also ruin one’s life.
References:
BBC, (2015). Gucci Sues Alibaba over 'Counterfeit Goods'. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32781236 [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015].
Legislation.gov.uk, (2015). Serious Crime Act 2015. [online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/part/2/enacted [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015].
New Laws Include Life Sentence and Hanging for Cyber-crime. (2015). SC Magazine. [online] Available at: http://www.scmagazineuk.com/new-laws-include-life-sentence-and-hanging-for-cyber-crime/article/414907/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015].
Wattles, J. (2015). Amazon Sues More Than 1,000 Sellers of 'Fake' Product Reviews. CNN. [online] Available at: http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/18/technology/amazon-lawsuit-fake-reviews/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2015].
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