What Is an Internet Crime?

With the digital age comes a whole new realm of possibilities—including many new ways to break the law. Internet crime is a fairly new and rapidly growing type of crime that keeps Internet security technicians very busy in constantly creating new safeguards to prevent it—not to mention legislators passing new laws, and policing agencies attempting to enforce them.

cyber crime

What is an Internet crime, exactly? As its name suggests, Internet crime is basically any crime in which the Internet plays a role. It falls within the broader realm of cybercrime (crimes committed by use of a computer), but as you can imagine, with the rapid expansion and use of the World Wide Web these days, the majority of cyber crimes are now Internet crimes.

Perhaps the type of Internet crime most people think of these days (since it’s the type that affects them most) is identity theft—that is, using the Internet to obtain people’s personal information, then using it to open new lines of credit, empty their bank accounts and use their credit cards without authorization. This can involve other types of Internet crimes such as “phishing” (sending phony emails to trick people into divulging passwords or credit card numbers), “skimming” (stealing credit card information at the point of purchase), Child Pornography and other illegal activities.

There are plenty of other types of Internet crimes, too. Another common occurrence these days includes cyberattacks in which hackers break into the systems of companies or governments to shut down their systems and/or mine sensitive information. The Internet has also made it easier to commit various types of white-collar crimes from the comfort of home or office, including various types of consumer fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and more.

If you are being investigated for an Internet crime, or if you’ve been formally accused of such a crime, it’s important for you to have trustworthy criminal legal representation to navigate you through the nuances of the law and help protect your interests. For expert counsel and representation, contact the Federal Criminal Law Center today.