Computers and crimes

Advances in Technology, especially the extensive use of computers in business and for private use, have brought with them new kinds of crime, such as the crimes of stealing. And it is not only money that is stolen by computer. It is estimated that approximately 2 billion dollars worth of computer software is stolen from the Internet each year. Then there is the theft of information.

There are also crimes associated with selling over the Internet. For example, a fake company can set up a website and offer goods for sale, goods that don’t actually exist. The unsuspecting consumer may be tricked into sending money or credit card details to the company. Or the goods for sale may be counterfeit. One U.S Company that investigates businesses on the Internet estimates that up to 20 percent of all brand-name goods sole over the Net are fakes.

Computer criminals can also cause harm in other ways. Computer “viruses” can be deliberately written into programs and documents. The viruses attach and cause damage to any computers onto which they are copied. In 1999, one or the first global viruses called Chernobyl crippled hundreds of thousands of computers around the world. A 24 year-old man was eventually tracked down as the author of the virus.

Computer-related crime of such kinds is growing at a rapid rate around the world, and police are faced with a difficult job in preventing it. One reason is that many computer crimes, especially thefts from companies, are not reported to the police. Although companies that are the victims of this kind of crime are likely to suffer huge financial losses, they tend to keep quiet about it. One explanation is that they want to protect their reputation. They do not want the public to think that they are vulnerable to such crimes, as the public may then lose confidence in the company. It is also difficult for police to keep up with the necessary technological skills. They need special training and equipment to fight computer crime effectively.

But while computer crime presents police with new problems in solving crimes, computers also help police in some ways. For example, law enforcement agencies in the United States are developing a national computer database on recorded thefts. They can also display photographs of suspects and wanted criminals on the Internet. These photographs have already led for the arrest of people on the FBI’s most wanted list.