Changing Scenario of Crime with Special Reference to Cyber Crime

Abstract

Crime may be defined as those actions committed by human beings that cause harm to others and violate societal norms. But with the advancement in science and technology that has reshaped every aspect of human life the scenario of crime has also changed from that of traditional to technological because in ancient times the concept of crime was prevalent in the society but the nature of crime was not so sophisticated as we see in the technological era. The invention of computers and smart phones has facilitated different types of cyber crimes in the society. Almost everyone is possessing a smart phone and the usage of it depends upon the people who will use it in a positive way. The concept of digital education has emerged as an important tool in the hands of learners and educators to propagate the education. Learners of lower age group are also using these technological equipments so parents should keep a strict vigil and supervision over their children in order to avoid such types of activities that cause moral harm to the norms and values of society. The main aim of this paper is to analyse how the nature of crime has changed and the different types of crime particularly in consideration with Cyber crime.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Cyber Crime may be defined as a crime which involves the use computer particularly Internet. It involves use of Information and Communication Technology or use of any electronic device in order to perform that crime. Crimes are committed by criminals from the ancient times but its nature has changed due to the advancement of computer. In the Era of twentieth Century, the criminals have changed the mode and very nature of crime. Cyber crime cannot be defined in actual way as there are different forms of misuse of technology.

The concept of crime in modern era has changed as criminals have shift to commit crime from conventional based methods to computer based methods. The proper definition of cyber crime is not possible because there are different forms of misuse of Information technology. The first cyber crime was recorded in 1820. It is notable that Abacus, a kind of computation has been used since 3500 B.C.

II. DIFFERENT TYPES OF CYBER CRIMES

There are different types of crimes that are discussed below:

1. Hacking: The individuals personal information can be assessed by hacking his computer or system. The hacker hacking the information can use software to crack into person’s computer and the person is unaware that his computer is being used by someone at different location.
2. Theft: This type of crime occurs when person violates copyright and download different software’s, games and apps. Numerous laws have been framed in order to prevent such crimes.
3. Cyber Terrorism: This type of crime is also known as Information Walls. It includes large scale attacks of computer networks. It creates a feeling of terrorism in the mind of victim.
4. Spamming:  Spam is the abuse of the electronic messaging system to send unsolicited bulk messages.
5. E- MAIL Spoofing: Spoofed e mail is one that appears to come from one source but actually it has been sent from some other source. The main aim here is to disrupt the receiver’s e mail service by sending him/ her huge number of mails.
6. Phishing: In this hacker’s has access to victims bank account . The customer usually clicks on the link in the email and remains unaware that the fraud has occurred.
7. Malware: It is a type of software that damages a computer system without the knowledge of owner taking control over person’s computer and spreads viruses to devices of other people.
8. Dark Web / Online Illegal Selling: Criminal performs illegal activities such as smuggled goods, selling illegal weapons or person’s information who is present on an illegal shopping portal. The main aim of this crime is to promote black marketing.
9. Fake News On Social Media: Some criminals work on social networking sites to spread rumors so as to create misinformation among the people. Sharing any illegal post or link on social media sites is also a crime.

III. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY OF CRIME

A. R.K Merton’s Social Strain Theory

According to this theory, social structure found within the society can give rise to criminal acts within the society. When people experience stress in their day to day lives they start to do those activities hat bare not acceptable by the society and act live criminals. On the basis of this theory, two type of stress can lead a person to commit criminal act.

1. Preventing an individual from achieving a goal.
2. Taking valuable things owned by an individual.

Conclusion

As far as the above discussion is concerned, Crime is any activity that disrupts the normal environment of the society. Crime was present in the society from earlier times but now its nature has changed due to technological advancements. People are much more exposed to technological a gadget that has changed the overall nature of crime thereby disturbing the norms of the society. There are various types of Cybercrimes that are happening in our society. People particularly youth should use the technology in a judicious manner in order to avoid the crime that damages moral essence of the society. Parents in particular should supervise their children in such a way so that they should not commit such heinous crimes in the society using technological devices. Living in the digital world has changed every aspect of human life and even scene of committing crime has also changed due to digitization.

References

[1] Grace (2016) A Sociological Study of Different Types of Cyber Crime, International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, 4 (4) 2348-3164 [2] K.M, Hasina (2020) The Causes of Cyber Crime, International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 5(8), 2456- 2165 [3] R.K Neeraj (2021) Cyber Crime and Society: An Analysis, International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 9 (8), 2320- 2882 [4] https://blog.ipleaders.in/crime-different-approaches-crime/

Copyright

Copyright © 2023 Farhana Yousuf. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.