How can a Digital Device be involved in a Cyber Crime?

In this day and age, it is so easy for criminals to use a digital device to carry out a traditional crime.

A traditional crime such as blackmail which, back in the day, would usually be done using newspaper cuttings collaged together to create a ransom note is now being done in a completely different way using the power of digital devices as well as the internet.

These days, it is so much easier for criminals to just use a computer to carry out a range of crimes such as, blackmail, identity theft, social media scams, ticket scams, dating bots, data theft and so much more.

Some examples of other traditional crimes where a digital device can be used include instant messaging, which is often used to commit harassment. Criminals also continue to pose as your bank where they will SMS you and try to scam you into paying fake accounts, etc.

Email is also used by cybercriminals on a regular basis to commit fraud by using phishing scams. It seems that the list is endless and so is the workload of digital forensics investigators as well as those dealing with Open Source Intelligence! Want to know more about our digital forensics and OSINT services? Please contact us on 021 110 0422, email contact@tcgforensics.co.za | contact@osint.co.za.

In the TCG Digital Forensics and OSINT department, we combine the experience of seasoned investigators with the latest technologies to achieve the results that you require. Contact us today!

How a digital device becomes involved in a crime

Crimes committed using a digital device essentially employ a hi-tech method to carry out what is usually a traditional crime. Thus, crimes such as blackmail which traditionally evoke images of newspaper cuttings collaged together to create the archetypal ransom note nowadays employ computers to produce the ransom note, be it a printed document or an email.

Examples of other traditional crimes where a digital device has been applied include instant messaging, which can used to commit harassment; email, which is applied to commit fraud though 'phishing' scams; mobile phones to record assaults in what has come to be known as 'happy slapping' and then there are the peer to peer file sharing programs which have been used extensively to download and distribute pictures portraying pedophilia.

The list, it seems, is endless and so is the workload on any hi-tech crime unit to deal with such cases.

Not all crimes committed using a digital device use it as a means to an end. Hacking a computer system without authority is a crime targeted at the computer system itself. So to is a denial of service (DOS) attack on a websites or the intentionally distribution of a virus.

At DLA Digital Forensics, we combine the experience of two seasoned investigators with both criminal and civil backgrounds with the latest technologies to achieve the results that you require. From data recovery, recovery of chat history, digital suspect profiling and so much more - contact DLA today!