Crime in the Age of Technology
Crime has been around since the beginning of society. As long as some people have what other people want, crime will exist. Advancements in technology have revolutionized the way the police and government investigate everything from murder to theft to fraud. It has also created new types of crime: identity theft, intellectual property theft, and cyber-stalking. The rise of social networks and “trading” sites has opened the door for pedophiles, prostitution, and other moral offenses. In this paper, we will take a look at what new crime technology has created, as well as how the government is using it to fight back.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes (www.identitytheft.com , 2010). People used to think that if someone got your credit card number, all they could do is run up charges on the account. The truth is, with just a little bit of information, new credit cards, loans and possibly mortgages can be opened (www.identitytheft.com). Since most people do not discover the fraudulent activity until they pull a credit report, or begin receiving demand letters for unpaid loans, the potential damage to a person’s credit is high. In many cases, you are required to notify the bank of fraudulent charges or accounts within a certain amount of time, and this makes it more difficult to put an end to the unauthorized spending.
You might be wondering,” How do they get my information?” Losing your wallet is still the number one way people obtain this information (Poulsen, 2009). Since they can purchase or apply for nearly everything online, the fact that they don’t look like you is not an issue. Forty-one percent of identity theft is done through technology (Poulsen). This includes using your credit card for a purchase (either online or in a store), a breach of your financial institution, and phishing scams.
Let’s talk about that last one: “Phishing”. It almost sounds like a child’s game. A phishing scam is when mass emails are sent out that look like official correspondence from a bank or credit card company (Bowles, 2010). The email may even say that there has been a breach in security, and you are required to verify your information. If you reply with your “verification”, they then use this to access your accounts, withdraw money, and even open new accounts.
When you make a purchase online, you should be aware that you are taking a risk. You are relying on the security of the website to keep your personal and financial information safe. When making online purchases, the best way to do this is through Paypal. Paypal has buyer protection, which guarantees your purchase. If you should not receive your items, or have problems with the seller (this includes retailers as well as individuals) they will return the money to your account, and go after the seller (www.paypal.com).
What about when you make a purchase in a store, or at a restaurant? One of the newer devices criminals are using is called a skimming device (Romero, 2010). These can either swipe or scan your card, storing the information into the handheld where they can later make a “clone” of your card. Another way is called electronic pickpocketing, using RFID (radio frequency identification) readers. This is when they scan your card, just by standing next to you- your card never leaves your wallet (Romero).
RFID was created to make things easier. They are in ID badges, credit cards, and passports. The hope is that they will be used in stores to speed up check-out lines (Romero, 2010). Unfortunately, they are also used to steal your information, without ever touching you or your credit card. So, how can you protect yourself? First, limit the number of credit cards you carry in your wallet. Check your balance and statements often, and notify the bank immediately of any suspicious activity. Finally, if you are truly concerned, there are several anti RFID wallets on the market. They block the RFID readers from scanning your credit cards, passports, and other sensitive information (http://www.idstronghold.com).
In the 1960’s, a “hacker” was a term used to describe someone with a mastery of computer (Trigaux, 2000). In the 1970’s, John Draper hacked into the phone line to make long distance calls. It isn’t until the mid 1980’s when someone is actually convicted of hacking for the purpose of stealing software, and the First National Bank of Chicago has $70 million stolen through their computer system (Trigaux). How do they do it? They load viruses onto the system they want to break into. These “bots”, or codes, are usually associated with the theft of data, but can be programmed to guess codes, passwords and send spam (Jacks, 2011). An experienced programmer is not required to do this, and in fact, many “masterminds” are children (www.cybercitizenship.org). With so many hacking resources online, it is easy to learn to do. In fact, there is even a school offering a “Hacker Degree”, supposedly aimed towards those who want to work in Network Security (www.hackerdegree.com). Anyone can be at risk to a hacker; the government, banks, hospitals, retailers, and even your own personal computer, are all prospective victims. The government has begun to crack down on this type of computer crime in recent years, and if convicted, a “hacker” (or “cracker”) can serve serious time- perhaps up to 20 years (http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/index.html).
Intellectual property crime is when someone steals your idea, or a program you created (Bowles, 2010). This is usually done by hacking into a company’s system and stealing software to sell to a competing business. Viruses are loaded into the system to get passwords. Once the information is accessed, the thief (or thieves) sells it to the highest bidder. This is usually done by a former employee who knows the system, an example being Sergey Aleyinkov, a former programmer of Goldman-Sachs. In 2009, on his last day of work, he transferred computer codes used for trading to an international server. He was arrested a month later, and is now serving 97 months in prison (Davis, Richardson, Rivera & Sullivan, 2011).
One of the great things that technology has brought us is the ability to keep in touch with friends, relatives, and co-workers. Even celebrities invite you to follow along with their day to day lives. We are able to search and find lost loves, friends we haven’t seen or spoken to in years, and even reunite with family. Sites like, Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter allow you to create a profile, find friends, post pictures and play games (Bowles, 2010).There is LinkedIn for the professional and BigTent for groups and clubs. There is no doubt that networks like these have opened the world to us, and made it possible to remain in contact with people we otherwise would not be.
There is, however, a downside to posting our every action, location, and photos. Pedophiles use these sites to search for victims. They look for photos, addresses, schools-whatever might clue them in to the whereabouts of the person. It is important that when a child is allowed to have a profile on any website, that they be monitored, and are not allowed to list information like their address, or the name of their school. This extends to school mascots because all a pedophile has to do it look up schools in the listed city with the mascot mentioned.
Another problem is “cyber stalking,” which is described as someone who monitors and traces a person’s internet activity, sends threatening emails or messages, and possibly send viruses (http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32458#1 ). This often leads to phone calls, vandalism, or even physical confrontations. The law is slow to respond, as stalking is difficult to prove, but a few states, including Alabama, Hawaii and Illinois, have laws specifically against electronic stalking.
When I think about yard sales, I think about driving around the neighborhood on the weekends, looking for signs, and cruising for homes with stuff piled on their front lawns. What if you could go online at any time and see if someone had what you were looking for and you could pick it up instead of paying for shipping? How about listing your yard sale date with items of interest to encourage more people to stop by? Or, listing your home for sale or rent- all for free? This is Craigslist, and it sounds like a great idea. Whenever there is something intended to make life easier, some people will find a way to abuse it. One way they do this is by placing a false ad for a property for rent. Why would they do that? When people contact them, they are told to fill out and application with a fee and sometimes even send a deposit. In the end, the home is not for sale or rent, and the person who posted the ad does not own or know the owners of the property (Sullivan, 2008).
Is there any sort of punishment for this sort of fraud? No. Craigslist takes no responsibility, and it can be difficult for the actual homeowner to get the ad taken down. When it does get taken down, the perpetrator will simply repost the ad. The only recourse for the homeowner is to take the person committing the fraud to court, but due to privacy settings, and lack of interest from authorities, it can be difficult to find out who is behind it.
Craigslist is more than finding items for sale. They have a classifieds section, items for trade, and a personal’s section called “Casual Encounters.” This is often where call girls post their information. In April of 2009, a man named Philip Markoff began to contact women through their Craigslist ads. When they met, he robbed them, and murdered one woman. Police were able to track him using the ads from Craigslist, and positively id him with video surveillance as he left the hotel where he killed Julissa Brisman (Larosa & Prior, 2010). After this, Craigslist changed the “Erotic Services” to “Misc. Romance”, but they still allow postings for prostitution.
The Romance section is not the only place where danger lurks. People have posted expensive items for sale, only to be robbed. In April of 2010, Jim Saunders posted a diamond ring for sale for $1000. When someone responded, arrangements were made for the ring to be purchased, but instead, four people with guns showed up, robbing the family. Saunders was fatally shot while trying to defend his son (McCarty, 2010). In 2009, eight month pregnant Heather Snively responded to a Craigslist ad for baby clothes. When Heather went to the home of Korena Roberts to exchange girl clothes for boy clothes, Roberts killed her, cut her baby out of her belly, and hid Snively’s body in the crawl space of her home. 911 was called to help the baby, and doctors and paramedics notified police that something was very wrong. Blood was everywhere, and Roberts had not given birth (Martinez, 2009). Heather’s body was found after a search of the home. Baby John Stephen did not survive.
Even though there were over 300 crimes and 12 murders in 2010 alone, Craigslist has not changed any policies or put new security measures in place, claiming that it is no more dangerous than living in the city of Oakland, and calls naysayers “Craigslist wannabes,” (International Business Times, 2011). Police consider Craigslist to be one stop shopping for criminals, and Chicago’s police department calls it, “robbery by appointment” (International Business Times).
The public is definitely taking notice, and some people are fighting back by shedding light on these activities. Sites like Craigscrimelist.org have been keeping up with Craigslist related crime, trying to get the message out there for people to be careful, and not to trust everything they read. They spotlight some of the more serious crimes (and there is an endless supply to choose from) and also make suggestions for sites that do edit ads and have security in place to prevent things like this from happening.
Technology has also helped law enforcement solve crime, and even identify thousands of John Does. Since many cases stall without a name for the victim, identification is crucial. Nameus.gov was created to help find missing persons, and identify John and Jane Does. DNA, fingerprinting, and dental information are also included (when available) to match with missing person’s cases nationwide. Since its creation in 2005, 373 cases have been closed through NameUs. The thing that makes nameus.gov unique is that civilians can log on and search through photos and artist renderings of the unnamed victims to try to find loved ones.
There are sites that are strictly for police and government officials, and for good reason. CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) and NCIC (National Crime Information Center) provide information on fugitives, missing persons, DNA, and other sensitive information. It can also provide familial DNA matches when manually instructed to do so (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/codis/codis-and-ndis-fact-sheet ). NDIS, the national side of CODIS, was launched in 1998 and has connected thousands of crimes to perpetrators (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/codis/codis-and-ndis-fact-sheet ). NCIC has been a great tool to connect crimes to each other even when they are spread out over different states, and is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No more waiting for the day shift or filing clerk to come in to run information or prints.
Most police cruisers now have computers in them. These provide essential up to date information and help with sending out alerts, collecting evidence and running license plates. When a BOLO (be on the lookout) goes out, or an AMBER Alert is issued, the officers on patrol will get the information instantly, along with photographs and identifying marks.
The AMBER Alert is another technological triumph- named for Amber Hagerman, a young girl from Texas who was kidnapped and murdered-AMBER stands for America’s Missing Broadcast Emergency Response. Although created in 1996, it wasn’t used in all fifty states until 2005 (www.amberalert.gov). When a child goes missing, the emergency response system is triggered, which means that there are programming interruptions with information on the missing and the abductor, and electronic highway signs flash with the make and model of the suspect’s car. Now, a person can sign up for the AMBER Alert App on their phones, and be notified by text with a picture of the missing child. This proved invaluable to an eight year old Washington girl, who was recognized by a Target store clerk when she received the alert on her phone (O’Neil, 2011).
Police officers around the country are being introduced to RAPID ID, a handheld device that scans a person’s fingerprints. What used to take hours or even days can now be done in a few seconds at the scene of a crime, or a traffic stop. As long as the victim or suspect has fingerprints on record, they can be identified quickly using this system (Galbincea, 2010). It can also be used to collect fingerprints at crime scenes, something that is crucial but tedious. It will help verify the identification of those without ID, who claim they are someone else. Currently, these devices can only compare prints in each city or county, but should soon expand to neighboring counties, and hopefully they will eventually compare fingerprints nationwide (Galbincea).
What might crime fighting look like in the future? Facial recognition is starting to be used by some departments, and many cities are currently using Shotspotter, a gunshot detection system that uses sound technology the same way cell phone towers triangulate phone calls (Yeung, 2011). CCTV (closed circuit television) is turning up everywhere, and not just at retailers and banks. Cities have 360 degree cameras on streets in high crime areas, and some places, like Tampa, are using surveillance drones to collect information and photos (Yeung).
There is no doubt that technology has made solving crime and identifying people easier and much faster than before. Given how advanced our government has become, it amazes me that some people still think they can get away with it. While there are those who take advantage of it, abuse it, and use it to hurt others, overall, I believe we have benefitted from the advancements. I look forward to seeing what new things develop to help law enforcement in the future.
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Crime in the Age of Technology by Courtney A. Wilson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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