Computer crime or cyber-crime can include many different types of offenses. If a computer or a network is the source, target, tool or the place the crime it would be a type of computer crime. Other crimes that can be facilitated by a computer crime would be fraud, theft, blackmail, forgery and embezzlement.

Computer crimes are covered by both federal and state laws. Because of the nature of technology, including the use of the internet, often computer crimes cross state lines, and therefore, involve federal laws and federal prosecution.

Some examples of computer crime would be the interception of data from a computer network or hacking. The word “hacking” originally involved illegal computer trespassing, although the meaning now has often been generalized and is not specifically linked to computer crimes. A hacker, meaning an unauthorized person would gain access to a computer network for various reasons, such as the disruption of service or the gaining of proprietary or personal information from the network. The transmission of a computer virus is a computer crime that can cause damage to computer systems, create a loss of information, and result in financial losses.

Other types of computer crime include harassment, such as cyber-bullying or cyber-stalking. Cyber-stalking is intimidation through the use of electronic means, such as email, online forums, electronic bulletin boards, or online communities such as MySpace or Facebook. While the crime has a different look to traditional stalking, the psychological implications can be the same for the stalking victim. Defamation of an individual through the use of electronic communication can also be a computer crime, as can identity theft.

Other crimes such as child pornography or drug trafficking or cyber-terrorism are all types of computer crimes. Because of the anonymity of computer users, many people have used the internet and modern technology to help execute their crimes more effectively than traditional methods. For example, child pornography has grown significantly because of the international and anonymous nature of the internet.

Because the usage of the internet for e-commerce, and the total dependence on technology for many businesses, computer crime will continue to advance. As new technologies take hold, criminal elements will infiltrate the systems for their benefit. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) has a computer crime squad that helps to protect the public from computer crimes. Because the internet is not managed or policed by one organization, but by many people from all over the world, computer crimes can cross international boarders and effective prevention or prosecution requires the coordination of many law enforcement agencies.