What to Do If You’ve Been Accused of an Internet Crime
In 2018, the Cyber Security Breaches Survey revealed the shocking news that approximately 43% of all businesses fell for some sort of internet crime. The costs associated with these crimes really added up. It’s estimated that in California alone, businesses collectively lost more than $214 million to internet crimes.
And businesses aren’t the only ones who fall victim to internet crimes. Every single day, there are multiple reports of people who lost thousands as a result of some internet crime.
We get so wrapped up in how victims handle internet crimes that we forget there is someone on the other side of the crime. Even worse, there are routinely people who are wrongfully accused of perpetuating an internet crime.
The first thing you should do when you’re accused of committing an internet crime is following police instructions. If you’re getting arrested, don’t try to resist. Resisting arrest not only makes you appear guilty, but it can also result in even more charges. When you’re told you’re being arrested for an internet crime, stay calm, cool, and collected.
Don’t say anything to anyone about the alleged internet crimes unless your criminal defense attorney is with you. In addition to making sure both your civil and legal rights are being upheld, your lawyer will stop you from inadvertently saying or doing something that could get you into even more trouble or that could be used to mount an even stronger case against you.
If you’ve been falsely accused of committing an internet crime, don’t fall for the temptation of accepting a plea deal because you’re tired of all the legal drama or have gotten scared because of what the police and the prosecuting attorney are telling you. As soon as you accept a plea deal, you will have a criminal record that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Trust your lawyer to get the charges dropped.
If you have committed an internet crime and are convicted, you should know that the details surrounding your case determine whether you’re convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. If you’re convicted of felony internet crimes, you could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced to spend up to 20 years in prison. If you’re convicted of misdemeanor internet crimes you’ll only face a fine of about $1,000 (plus court costs.)
In many misdemeanor cases, the judge opts for probation instead of actual jail time, especially if this is the first time you’ve been in trouble with the law.
3 Common Social Media Crimes
Most of us love social media sites. They provide us with an easy way to stay in touch with loved ones, the ability to let people know what we’re up to and to simply check in with someone.
What many of us don’t think about is how individuals with criminal intentions can use social media against us.
If you love your social media platforms, there are some common social media crimes you should know about. Once you’re aware of these crimes and cons, you can take steps to monitor your account and protect yourself.
Hacking
Hacking is a huge problem, particularly with Facebook. Every single day, there are stories about someone’s account either being hacked or someone creating a mirror account and using their newly gained access to gain access to another person’s computer files, contacts, and personal information.
In many cases, these hacking cases eventually turn into identity theft situations which is why it’s important to quickly change passwords and contact the social media platform’s administrators as soon as the hacking attempt is discovered.
Stalking and Bullying
Everything good has a downside. The praise, encouragement, and general good vibes you receive when you share the good news on social media sites are balanced by the stalking and bullying that is found all over social media. The bullying is bad. It can quickly eat at the victim’s self-confidence. There have even been cases of social media bullying leading to suicide.
Alongside the bullying is stalking. While this is mostly only discussed when someone is talking about a public profile, it can be a problem for anyone who uses social media sites. Not only can a stalker follow us virtually, but when we post personal information, including pictures of our homes/cars/vacation spots, we create a situation where a stalker could also start following us in real-time. This is why it’s so important to be very conscious about how much personal information you post on social media sites and to carefully go over every picture and make sure there isn’t anything a stalker could use to pinpoint your location.
Vacation Robberies
Vacation robberies have been around forever, the original Home Alone plot was based around a vacation robbery, but they used to require the thieves to pay attention to a specific neighborhood and learn the signs that someone was out of town. Today, thieves who participate in vacation robberies simply have to pay attention to social media and see who is talking about vacation while they are out of town.
The best way to avoid being a victim of a vacation robbery is to resist the urge to post vacation photos on your social media sites until you’re home. When posting, be very clear that you’re home and that your home isn’t ripe for a robbery.
What steps do you take to avoid common social media crimes?