Fighting Internet crimes: a tough task

By Andrew Roberts

 

Introduction

Due to the extreme amount of violence and crime that our country has had to endure over the past couple of years I feel that there has become a growing need for the United States to find a way to prevent Internet crimes. Internet crimes meaning everything from internet hate web sites that serve as a basis of coordinating attacks of hatred, to child molesters who search for young children online. Internet crimes are becoming more of problem everyday.
I was the victim of Internet crime when my credit card was used without my approval on a web site to order merchandise. Far too often people are being victimized by means of the World Wide Web. Mainly because of the false sense of a secret or unknown identity that the Internet gives people. It makes people feel like they cannot be caught because there face is not seen when these crimes are committed.
Among the growing number of types of Internet crimes that are more frequently being perpetrated, child pornography is near the top of the list. The Internet gives child pornographers a means of sending and sharing child pornographic images. It’s a crime that’s extremely hard to crack down on due to the fact that it is hard to monitor what type of pictures someone is sending and receiving in e-mails. The theft of music online has become such of an epidemic that it is now an offense that is punishable by jail. No longer do music companies plan on letting their profits go down the drain without a fight. It’s really sad to think that a music artist could put so much time and effort into a CD and then the CD be copied in its entirety over the internet for free. But beyond materialistic losses the world may suffer do to internet crimes the real problems arise when children and adults are hurt by internet predators.


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Background

The last time I went home I sat and talked with my uncle about school and how my classes were going. When I told him some of the classes I was taking he began to ask me what I was studying about in the various classes.
I began to explain to him that Communications Technology was a class in which we learned about all of the great uses of the Internet. Before I could get to deep into the conversation my uncle stopped me and told me that he had a friend who’s son was killed because of the Internet. After hearing such a startling revelation I immediately began to ask my uncle “how?” How could the Internet ever be the cause of someone dying? My uncle began telling me a story. A story about a 15 year old boy named Corey. Corey was an outstanding athlete, friendly kid and an overall intelligent young man.
Corey was somewhat shy so he found it difficult to make friends. On Corey’s 15th birthday his mother got him just what he wanted. A brand new computer. Corey grew very attached to his computer and would spend countless hours on it searching the web and playing games. One day Corey met a girl named Lisa online in a chat room and they became good friends over the Internet.
They began to send each other e-mails nearly everyday and many times they would chat online using instant messaging. After exchanging pictures and getting to know each other for a couple of months Corey thought it was the right time for him and Lisa to finally meet face to face. The two decided to meet at a park not too far from where Lisa’s parents house was. Corey left his house that early Saturday morning on his way to meet a friend who he had met online and had known for approximately 8 months. On his way out the door he told his mom that he was going to a nearby friends house. His mother had no objections and Corey left the house. That Saturday morning was the last day that Carol would see her son alive.
When Corey arrived at the park he was approached by a man who identified himself as Lisa’s father. The man told Corey that Lisa had wandered off somewhere and asked Corey if he would get in his car and help him look for her. Being the nice kid that he was Corey said yes. After getting in the car with this man Corey was kidnapped . He was then physically and sexually assaulted and later murdered.
After hearing this story from my uncle it made me think really hard. I began to ask myself if the Internet had never existed would there have ever been a way for this type of crime to happen? The answer is no. The Internet provided Corey’s killer with a means of communicating with him. It provided his killer with a way of setting up an encounter. An encounter that would result in the loss of Corey’s life.
Most people who use the Internet use it for purposes that are perfectly fine. Corey used the Internet as a way of communicating and getting to know others. He was shy so the Internet provided him with a way of getting to know other people without all of the shyness and nervousness that occurs sometimes during face to face contacts.
The Internet is not 100 percent to blame in this case. Corey’s parents perhaps should have done a better job in monitoring their child’s online usage and his online acquaintances. But the fact still remains that a killer should not have had a way to access and mislead a young boy into thinking that he is someone that he was not.
It is because cases like this the Internet must be more strictly regulated and watched. Corey’s life should not be lost in vain It should serve as a lesson that there are extremely sick individuals in this world that will go to drastic means to commit crimes.
I never realized how much of an impact the Internet could have in a person’s life, especially a person who is socially withdrawn from society. The Internet is like any social place that we go to on Earth without the actual physical face to face contact.
It is very different from the phone because it usually doesn’t allow us to hear the person’s voice that we are communicating with. It’s unlike regular mail because in order to communicate with someone thru mail you have to have an address. Chat rooms don’t require that you know someone’s e-mail address before you can communicate with them.
The Internet is unlike any form of communication that human kind has ever had. That is why we must treat the Internet different from any other form of communication in history.
Laws and regulations of the Internet must be enforced in order to put a cease to all of the violence and crimes that the Internet has began to breed. It is something that we must do as a whole collective unit in order for it to be successful. That means everyone taking part in saying “I’m going to do whatever I can to helps stop Internet crime.”
The laws must be strict in order for people to realize that Internet crimes will not be tolerated. In my opinion anyone who uses the Internet for any reason other than those permitted by law, should be banned from using the Internet ever again. That would show people that we will have a zero tolerance for Internet crimes and those who commit them.

Many hate web sites have begun to thrive on the Internet

The Argument: Stopping Internet crimes

When discussing such a controversial subject as the Internet and its criminal uses the first question that might come to mind is how do we stop such crimes from happening?. The answer to that question is one that is very difficult to answer with just one solution. Stopping Internet crimes is going to take more than one answer, more than one solution. Due mainly to the fact that Internet crimes are being committed in various ways.
The downloading of child pornography is a big concern. But how can we stop it from happening?. The answer is thru tedious and routine checks of websites and computers of individuals suspected of committing these crimes.
InInternet Crimes Against Children December 2001 they state that, “Computers and the Internet have made the predators jobs easier Historically, child predators have found their victims in public places where children tend to gather. Today with so many children online the Internet provides predators a new place.” The Internet must be investigated without any bias for that reason. Regardless of the privacy issues that may in sue.
According to Child Pornography Laws March 2003 “The FBI has arrested over 500 alleged “sexual predators” in the past two years.” That is a number that is far too high. The children are our future. If we want to have a bright future we must start doing whatever we can now to protect our children in the future.
When we let offenders go with a slap on the wrist it gives them the message that we will tolerate such behavior. We must show them ZERO TOLERENCE.

It takes everyone to make a difference

Conclusion
I never want to have to hear another story like the one that my uncle told me the last time that I visited home. If the Internet is apart of the problem then we must reform it in some way. If that means that we have to make adjustments in how we are able to meet and communicate with other then those changes must be made. No one wants to have to here about another child being victimized because he chose to interact with the world online.
The International Association of Chief’s of Police 2003 defines hate crimes as followed, “A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against persons or property that is motivated in part by an offenders bias against an individuals or groups race, religion, ethnic origin ,gender, age, disability or sexual orientation.”
Hate web sites serve as a common meeting ground for people who have the same dislike and hatred for a certain race of people. These sites must be monitored closely because at any time members of these groups could be using the Internet to setup and coordinate hate crimes and attacks.
Quava Fraud 2003 states that “Over a billion transactions a year are executed via the web. A recent study by the Internet Fraud Prevention Advisory Council found that fraud as a percentage of revenues may be as much as 2% online, 40 times the offline figure of 0.05%.” That is a lot of money that ends up in the hand of criminals who don’t deserve any of it.
Piracy accounts for millions of dollars in lost sales to the music industry every year. According to Anti-Piracy-Online Piracy and Electronic Theft 2003“because of the nature of the theft , the damage is difficult to calculate but not hard to envision. Millions of dollars are at stake.”
It is the artist who ultimately pay the cost. They are the ones who suffer low record sells and minimal profits on their recording deals. Piracy is an offense that has become so prevalent that many wonder what can be done to stop it. For one Napster and other online sites where you can download music have significantly changed in there structure. Where it used to be free, many find that there is now a charge to be a member of such sites.
This has helped but Piracy is still out there and there is still much work to be done to fully eliminate the problem. Those caught downloading music via the Internet now face the reality of going to jail.
The overall effect of crimes committed on the Internet can never truly be seen. Human lives can never be calculated and neither can the amount of dollars lost due to piracy, and credit card fraud.. But my main concern isn’t the dollar amount that we the American people lose out on each year due to these crimes. My concern is with the young man or lady who just wants to live a free happy life where they can meet and study the world on the Internet.
In an article about hate crimes featured in CNN.com 1999 the author states, “But now many spreading a gospel of hate are using the Internet to reach millions.” The Internet has the capabilities to reach millions of people everyday. When we look at things from that perspective it is easy to understand why we must do whatever we can to protect the people who use the Internet by any means necessary.