Essay --

Cyber Crimes are crimes committed via the Internet. In some cases, the source of attack is the computer system. These types of attacks can come in the forms of computer viruses such as worms or Trojan horses, DOS (denial of service), and electronic vandalism. (OJP, 2013). The computer can also be used to commit theft such as embezzlement, financial information, and fraud. Other uses involves malicious adware, phishing, spoofing, spyware, and hacking; to name a few. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, over the past few years, have worked diligently monitoring and combatting criminal behavior occurring on the Internet. To do this, they have joined forces with the National White Collar Crime Center and formed an organization known as the IC3. The IC3 was developed in 2000 with its purpose of combating Internet crimes. This organization accepts criminal complaints that occur on the Internet. The IC3 conducts investigations into the complaints and with sufficient evidence or cause, refers them to state, local, federal or international law enforcement agencies for further investigations. The IC3 mission is to â€Å"serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cybercrime.† (IC3, n.d.). According to the IC3, in 2008, they received 275,284 complaints. Compared to the 2007 complaints, there were 33.1% more complaints. The majority of the complaints filed were related to both fraudulent and non-fraudulent issues on the Internet. The crimes reported consisted of non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment which was 32.9%, auction fraud represented 25.5% of the complaints, credit and debit card fraud represented 9.0% of complaints, Confidence fraud, computer fraud, and check f... ... loss: $4,187.†(IC3, 2012). In 2012, the IC3 received 289,874 complaint submissions. Of these 39.64% reported financial loss. The 2012 Internet Crime Report indicated that the overall statistics were as so: Total complaints received: 289,874, Complaints reporting loss: 114,908, Total Loss: $525,441,110.00, Median dollar loss for those reporting a loss: $600.00, Average dollar loss overall: $1,813.00, Average dollar loss for those reporting loss: $4,573.00. (IC3, 2013). Based on the statistics and rise in Internet crime since the organization was formed in 2000, the need for additional staffing has been sufficient enough to withstand the number of complaints received on a monthly basis. For states that experience high levels of a particular Internet crime, the IC3 should consider increasing staff in an effort to combat the crimes that plague that particular area.