Most Typical Cyber Crimes

Over 600,000 Facebook users fall victims of internet fraud on a daily basis. According to Myriam (2014), any criminal activity that happens in a computer network is a cybercrime. Although numerous types of computer frauds are reported every day, malicious software, hacking and identity theft are the most typical cyber crimes.

Every computer user is vulnerable to damaging threats like malware and different classes of computer viruses. FBI (2015) categorizes malicious software among the most dangerous cyber frauds, citing that they are responsible for more than 44% of the total losses incurred by Internet users every month. Most fraudulent software programs will hide in the background of one’s computer with the intention of damaging one’s data.

Identity theft is another type of cybercrime that has stirred a lot of attention from government authorities. Criminals use other people’s identification information to engage in malicious crimes that may damage the victim’s reputation, or leave them at a loss. Brenner (2010) argues that individuals who use the World Wide Web for their financial transactions are most susceptible to internet theft. This is because most criminals are usually interested in obtaining information that can be used to steal funds from people’s bank accounts.

The third most common class of internet crime is hacking; criminals use special computer codes to access one’s information from a remote location. Hacking, in the United States, is punishable as a felony (FBI, 2015). It is among the crimes that cause enormous losses to both individuals and government authorities across the globe. One can reduce chances of being vulnerable to this form of cybercrime by protecting all personal information with strong passwords.

Although different government authorities spend a lot of money to curb cyber crimes, it is necessary for the society to get actively involved in ending this crime and report any suspicious activities they encounter while using their computers. It cannot take a single day to control such fraudulent activities, but the society, through increased responsibility can help to reduce the rate of internet crime gradually.