Phishing is another criminal technique used to cull bank account or credit card information. Lovet (2007) describes how simple and potentially lucrative phishing can be: "the total costs for sending out 100,000 phishing emails can be as little as $60. This kind of 'phishing trip' will uncover at least 20 bank accounts of varying cash balances, giving a 'market value' of $200 - $2,000 in e-gold." Most incidents of phishing and identity fraud are more easily carried out in countries with less lax laws regarding computer crime, fraud, embezzlement, and identity theft than in the United States (Lovet, 2007). However, one of the largest cases of consumer identity theft was carried out in the United States this year, when "at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards was stolen by hackers," (Swetenham, 2007). Especially since September 11, law enforcement officials in the United States have been increasingly concerned about the possibility of cyberterrorism: the use of computer systems to harm or kill people. No act of cyberterror has been documented. However, all major public systems currently rely on computerized control systems and databases that, if tampered with, could cause serious damage. For example, hydroelectric dams are controlled and monitored by computers. Public transportation systems also depend on computer controls and monitoring. A terrorist who hacked into one of these systems could cut off a city's power, or trap millions of passengers in public transportation vehicles.

In 2004, the Council of Europe enacted a trans-national treaty regarding the prevention and prosecution of computer crime. The United States agreed to get on board with the convention in January 2007. The treaty largely targets organized crime and was designed to "protect citizens against computer hacking and Internet fraud, as well as crimes involving electronic evidence, including child sexual exploitation, organized crime and terrorism," (McCormack, 2006). The treaty does not address the problems of hacking and cracking directly, unless those activities are designed...

Laws against cracking vary state-by-state. Some forms of computer crime are outright strange, like the "happy slapping" incidents in Europe in which a ring of low-grade cybercriminals arranged public assaults of strangers. The "cruel and sometimes lethal form of entertainment" involved filming the attacks on cellular phone cameras, the images then posted online (Swetenham, 2007).
The United States Department of Justice lists a litany of cases prosecuting cybercriminals, showing that computer crimes are widespread and increasing in prevalence. As increasing numbers of people become computer literate, the digital universe becomes saturated with malicious users who seek to commit any number of offenses ranging from child pornography web rings to identity theft to hacking to acts of terror. Combating computer crimes will require aggressive efforts and sensible legislation.

References

BBC (2004). Hot topics: Computer viruses. November 2004. Retrieved April 18, 2007 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/computerviruses/crime.shtml

Lovet, G. (2007). How cybercrime operations work;; and how they make money. Retrieved April 18, 2007 at http://www.crime-research.org/analytics/2524/

McCormack, S. (2006). United States Joins Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime. United States Department of State. Retrieved April 18, 2007 at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/73353.htm

Swetenham, R. (2007). Quick links. Retrieved April 18, 2007 at http://www.qlinks.net/quicklinks/comcrime.htm

United States Department of Justice (2007). Computer Crime Cases. Retrieved April 18, 2007 at http://www.cybercrime.gov/cccases.html