Types of Cyber Crimes
Cyber stalking
Cyberstalking is the practice of stalking or harassing someone over the internet. It can be directed towards individuals, groups, or even organisations, and can include slander, defamation, and threats. The goal could be to control or threaten the victim, or to obtain information for other crimes such as identity theft or online stalking. It occurs via the internet, in places like social media, forums, and email. It’s usually planned out and carried out over a while. Other forms of cyberstalking might be used to frighten victims or make their lives unpleasant.
Cyberstalkers may, for example, stalk their victims on social media, trolling and sending threatening comments; they may even hack email accounts to connect with the victim’s connections, including friends and employers. Faking photos on social media or sending threatening private messages are examples of social media stalking. Cyberstalkers are known for spreading harmful rumours and making false charges, as well as creating and publishing revenge pornography. They may even commit identity theft by creating false social media profiles or blogs in the victim’s name.
Cyberstalking does not always require direct conversation, and some victims are unaware that they are being followed online. Perpetrators might utilise numerous tactics to monitor victims and utilise the information acquired for crimes such as identity theft. The barrier between the internet and real life might get blurred in some circumstances. Attackers can gather personal information, contact their associates, and try to harass offline.
Cyberstalking can be classified into three different types, that are as follows:
- Email stalking;
- Internet stalking;
- Computer stalking.
Email stalking
Email stalking is one of the most common types of stalking in the physical world, which includes telephoning, sending mail, and actual surveillance. Cyberstalking, on the other hand, can take many different forms. Unsolicited e-mail, such as hate, obscene, or threatening messages, is one of the most common forms of harassment. Sending the victim viruses or a significant amount of electronic junk mail are examples of other sorts of harassment. It’s vital to note that simply distributing viruses or sending sales calls isn’t considered stalking.
However, if these communications are sent repeatedly in an attempt to frighten (e.g., in the same way, that stalkers in the physical world mail subscriptions to pornographic magazines), they may be considered stalking.
Internet stalking
In this instance, stalkers might make extensive use of the internet to slander and put their victims at risk. Cyberstalking takes on a public rather than a private component in such circumstances. This type of cyberstalking is particularly concerning because it looks to be the most likely to break into physical space. Traditional stalker practises such as threatening phone calls, property destruction, threatening mail, and physical attacks are commonly associated with internet stalking. There are significant distinctions between the situation of someone who is stalked from a distance of two thousand miles and someone who is regularly within the shooting range of their stalker.
While most criminal penalties recognise emotional distress, it is not deemed as dangerous as a genuine physical threat. Despite the fact that the connection between stalking, domestic violence, and feticide have been experimentally shown in real life, much internet stalking still focuses on causing emotional anguish, dread, and apprehension. This is not to imply that instilling fear and generating concern should not be criminalised.
Computer stalking
The third type of cyberstalking is computer stalking, which takes advantage of the Internet and the Windows operating system to get control of the targeted victim’s computer. It’s unlikely that many people realise that a single Windows-based machine linked to the Internet can be detected and connected to another computer over the Internet. This connection is a computer-to-computer connection that allows the interloper to take control of the target’s computer without the use of a third party.
As soon as the target computer connects to the Internet in any form, a cyberstalker usually talks directly with them. The stalker can take control of the victim’s computer, and the victim’s sole defence is to unplug from the Internet and relinquish their current IP address
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