LESSON 11- INTERNET DEVIANCE

Identity theft (online)

Stealing personal info (credit card, Social Security) via computer to buy goods charged to victim

Profitability of online theft

Easier and more profitable than traditional theft (store/bank burglaries)

Example: Carlos Salgado

Stole 100,000+ credit card numbers via computer-intrusion program; credit line ~$1B; caught by FBI; sentenced 2.5 years

Hacking commercial databases

Method used by identity thieves to steal mass consumer data

Phishing

Targeted e-mails pretending to be banks/e-commerce sites asking for personal info

Phishing example

Mark Nichols received fake eBay email asking for credit card info; avoided loss by verifying site

Keylogging programs

Software that records keystrokes and sends info to thieves; used to steal usernames, passwords, and bank info

Spyware/Trojans

Monitoring programs secretly planted in websites, emails, or downloads; includes keyloggers

Keylogger uses

Parents monitoring children, partners spying, but mainly thieves stealing cash/accounts

International cybercrime

Keyloggers and Trojans often used across borders; victims worldwide

Example: Joe Lopez

Joe Lopez lost $90,000 via keylogging Trojan; funds transferred to Latvia

Inside jobs in identity theft

Over 50% involve corporate insiders (employees, authorized users)

Example: GM employee

Stole personal info of executives on last day, caught, then repeated at another company

Company security failures

Lack of monitoring insiders; no firewalls; default/easy passwords; accidental data sales

Example: Choice-Point

Information broker sold 145,000 customer records to a fake company due to poor security

Consequences of weak corporate security

Consumer data exposed; increases identity theft risk

Preventive measures

Use firewalls, strong passwords, monitor insider access, verify requests for personal info

Internet gambling legality

Illegal in the U.S.; games requiring more skill than chance (chess, backgammon, eight-ball pool) are legal; games with more luck than skill (sports betting, poker, blackjack, slots) are illegal

Growth of Internet gambling

Players increased; sites grew from 700 (1999) to 2,400 (2006); revenue rose from

Reason U.S. law can't stop it

Global and borderless nature; foreign sites legal; U.S. sites often unenforced due to higher priority issues (terrorism, drugs)

U.S. government action

Continues to treat Internet gambling as illegal; some bills to block bank/credit card payments failed

Reasons for keeping illegal

1) Prevent minors from gambling 2) Protect compulsive gamblers from bankruptcy 3) Reduce fraud 4) Limit organized crime involvement 5) Prevent money laundering

Cost of illegality

Loss of potential tax revenue (~$900M/year); lack of regulation allows underage/compulsive gambling and offshore operators beyond U.S. law

Legalization benefits

Regulate industry, reduce youth/compulsive gambling, fraud, and money laundering

Types of Internet gamblers

Previous land-based casino gamblers more likely to gamble online; online gamblers tend to be younger, more educated, adventurous, financially stable, and bank online

Addictiveness of online gambling

More addictive than offline due to convenience, enjoyment, anonymity, and solitary nature

Financial behavior online vs offline

Online gamblers stop when funds run out; offline gamblers continue gambling beyond affordability; offline gamblers tend to be less educated

Cybersex definition

Use of the computer to find sexual partners, engage in erotic chats, trade pornographic images, masturbate, or have extramarital/real-life sex

How participants find partners

By posting/answering personals online or entering chat rooms

Activities involved

Exchanging erotic emails, trading pornographic pictures, engaging in steamy chat conversations, sometimes meeting offline for real sex

Typical demographics

Mostly white, male, college-educated; about half are married

Reason 1: Anonymity

Allows users to hide true identity, adopt preferred persona, feel confident or attractive, overcome shyness

Reason 2: Ease and convenience

Makes finding partners with similar sexual interests easier, especially for busy individuals

Reason 3: Sharing sexual fantasies

Allows discussion and realization of fantasies socially frowned upon in the real world

Reason 4: Masturbation outlet

Provides an easy outlet for sexual release through online interaction

Reason 5: Potential for real-life sex

Expectation that online sexual interaction may lead to satisfying face-to-face sexual encounters

Cyberporn typical users

Mostly older, married men, white, middle-class

Age demographics

Two-thirds are over 30 years old

Marital and social profile

Mostly married, relatively unhappy in marriage, weak ties to religion

Viewing time

70% of cyberporn traffic occurs during work hours

Teenage users

Less inclined to view cyberporn; exposed to porn from youth, less intrigued

Child porn demographics

Mostly white men in their 30s and 40s; occupations vary widely from unemployed to scientists/engineers

Motivations for child porn use

Used as masturbation aid and for trading pornographic material to satisfy “collective fetish”

Attitudes among child-porn consumers

Vary widely: some see it as wrong, some view it as “innocent” fantasy, some admit to molestation

Online affairs definition

Married people engaging in extramarital sexual activities through emails or chat rooms

Difference from offline affairs

Offline involves physical contact; online involves erotic conversations, sexual fantasies, or masturbation

Common rationalizations

“It’s just a friendship,” “merely flirtation or fun,” “relationship with a computer, not a real person,” “never met in person,” “no physical sex occurs”

Public perception

Most people view online affairs as real and harmful to marriages, similar to offline infidelity

Internet facilitation factors

Anonymity allows cheating without fear of being caught

Internet facilitation factors

Convenience of finding partners worldwide without leaving home or office

Internet facilitation factors

Escapism from real-life stress into a fantasy world

Offline progression

About 30% of married people with online affairs eventually meet partners in person and have sex

Case example

Ted, a 40-year-old married salesman, quickly progressed from first-time to habitual cheater due to anonymity, convenience, and escapism

NSHM definition

“Not so happily married” – individuals seeking casual sex online without wanting a steady partner

Cyberstalking definition

Using the Internet or e-mail to repeatedly harass or threaten another person

Growth factors

Cheaper, more accessible, and easier-to-use computer technology helps conceal the stalker’s identity

Prevalence

About 10% of students at the University of New Hampshire reported repeated harassment via e-mail

Perceived severity

Lack of physical contact may seem benign, but cyberstalking can be more disturbing and dangerous than traditional stalking

Access to victim

Cyberstalkers have greater access to personal data, can disrupt personal/professional life, and harass globally

Potential consequences

Emotional, mental, physical harm; sexual assault; kidnapping; murder

Demographics of perpetrators

Most cyberstalkers are male, victims are female, and perpetrators are often older than victims

Relationship to victim

Most cyberstalkers know their victims, but some target strangers

Example 1

50-year-old ex-security guard in LA harassed a 28-year-old woman online, posting personal info and fantasies; led to multiple attempted sexual assaults; sentenced to six years

Example 2

Recent male graduate in San Diego sent daily threatening e-mails (“e-mail bombing”) to five female students he believed mocked him; victims had never met him

Prejudice-driven cyberstalking

Apparent “normal” students may harass sexual minority strangers online but not friends, showing targeted online deviance

Hacking definition

Breaking into a computer network to plant viruses, steal data, change user names/passwords, manipulate webpages, or explore the system

Computer sabotage

Use of viruses to delete files or disrupt computer function; affects virtually all users

Worms

Malicious programs that replicate themselves without user assistance, potentially crashing systems

Malicious hacking

Includes viruses/worms and breaking into systems to disrupt services or steal info

Innocent hacking

Breaking into systems for challenge and notifying admins to improve security

Mischievous hacking

Illegal but playful hacking, e.g., accessing celebrities’ phones, posting personal info, changing grades

Financial-motivated hacking

Targeting individuals or corporations to steal personal info or money; often involves social engineering

Cybercrime demographics

Foot soldiers often young adults from poorer countries; hacking for profit also occurs within rich countries

Juvenile deviance link

Hacking is predominantly male and juvenile; shares characteristics with juvenile delinquency

Male overrepresentation

Male-to-female ratio among hackers can be as high as 99:1 due to interest in logical problem-solving, machines, and domination

Family background

Hackers often come from dysfunctional families with neglect, conflict, abuse, or parental substance issues

Peer influence

Hackers associate with peers and participate in competitive hacking (“out-hacking”) similar to delinquent group behaviors

Hacktivism

Use of hacking to promote political or social agendas

IC3

Internet Crime Complaint Center collects reports on hacking and cybercrime

Hacking and terrorism

Hacking can facilitate terrorism by disrupting networks or stealing sensitive info

Internet layers

Surface web: publicly accessible sites; deep web: not indexed; dark web: hidden, often illegal content

Global nature of cyberdeviance

Cyberdeviance occurs worldwide and easily crosses national borders, with perpetrators in one country targeting victims in another

Nigerian scam

Classic international fraud cheating Americans out of $5 billion from the early 1980s to 1996; still ongoing

Example of cross-border fraud

Canadian meth addicts stole personal info and sold it online to crime rings in Romania, Austria, and Egypt

Most common cyberdeviance

Online fraud, including identity theft, dominates cyberdeviant activity globally

IC3

Internet Crime Complaint Center; alliance of FBI, National White Collar Center, and Bureau of Justice Assistance

Top countries for cyberdeviance complaints

United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria

Increase in cybercrime

Reports rose from 640 in 1993 to over 1.35 million by 2002

Factors for rise in cyberdeviance

1) Increased use of computers and the Internet 2) Lack of law enforcement globally

Lax enforcement hot spots

Russia, Eastern Europe, and countries with high Internet access but low policing see high cybercrime

Recruitment of young hackers

Organized crime syndicates recruit computer-savvy youth through chat rooms or online contests (e.g., South Korea hacker contest)

International legal gaps

Criminals can evade prosecution due to lack of applicable laws or lack of international cooperation (e.g., "I Love You" virus creator in the Philippines)

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic (inferred)

Increased online activity likely facilitated more cyberdeviance, including scams and fraud