Abstract
The technological changes of the last 30 years have facilitated a substantial increase in cybercrimes. The impact of these crimes on victims has not been the subject of extensive research. This paper based upon a British Home Office funded study draws upon the experience of 52 victims of computer misuse crime, which can be broadly grouped under hacking and computer virus related crimes. Drawing upon the interviews with these victims the researchers identified a continuum of three components founded upon the seriousness of the incident and the impact on the victim. These three categories included: incidents of inconvenience, crimes of inconvenience and serious crimes of personal violation or significant financial loss or fear of. The paper provides depth accounts of 15 of the 52 victims interviewed to illustrate this continuum.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Becker, C. S. (1992). Living and relating: An introduction to phenomenology. London: Sage.
Blakeborough, L., & Correia, S. (n.d.). The scale and nature of fraud: A review of the evidence. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720772/scale-and-nature-of-fraud-review-of-evidence.pdf
Button, M., & Cross, C. (2017). cyber frauds, scams and their victims. Abingdon: Routledge.
Button, M., Lewis, C., & Tapley, J. (2014). Not a victimless crime: The impact of fraud on individual victims and their families. Security Journal, 27(1), 36–54.
Cross, C. (2015). No laughing matter: Blaming the victim of online fraud. International Review of Victimology, 21(2), 187–204.
Cross, C., Parker, M., & Sansom, D. (2019). Media discourses surrounding ‘non-ideal’victims: The case of the Ashley Madison data breach. International Review of Victimology, 25(1), 53–69.
Funnell, C. (2015). Racist hate crime and the mortified self: An ethnographic study of the impact of victimization. International Review of Victimology, 21(1), 71–83.
Gekoski, A., Adler, J. R., & Gray, J. M. (2013). Interviewing women bereaved by homicide: reports of secondary victimisation by the criminal justice system. International Review of Victimology, 19(3), 307–329.
Henson, B., Reyns, B. W., & Fisher, B. S. (2016). Cybercrime victimization. In C. A. Cuevas & C. M. Rennison (Eds.), The Wiley handbook on the psychology of violence (pp. 553–570). Wiley: Chichester.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (2019) Cyber: Keep the light on. Retrieved from https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/cyber-keep-the-light-on-an-inspection-of-the-police-response-to-cyber-dependent-crime.pdf
Holt, T. J., & Bossler, A. M. (2008). Examining the applicability of lifestyle-routine activities theory for cybercrime victimization. Deviant Behavior, 30(1), 1–25.
Holt, T. J., Bossler, A. M., & Seigfried-Spellar, K. C. (2015). Cybercrime and digital forensics: An introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.
Hope, T. (2007). Theory and method: the social epidemiology of crime victims. In S. Walklate (Ed.), Handbook of victims and victimology (pp. 62–90). Cullompton, Devon: Willan.
Ibrahim, S. (2016). Social and contextual taxonomy of cybercrime: Socioeconomic theory of Nigerian cybercriminals. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 47, 44–57.
Jansen, J., & Leukfeldt, E. R. (2018). Coping with cybercrime victimization: An exploratory study into impact and change. Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology, 2(2), 205–228.
Leukfeldt, E. R., & Yar, M. (2016). Applying routine activity theory to cybercrime: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Deviant Behavior, 37(3), 263–280.
Leukfeldt, R., Veenstra, S., & Stol, W. (2013). High volume cyber crime and the organization of the police: The results of two empirical studies in the Netherlands. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 7(1), 1–17.
McGarry, R., & Walklate, S. (2011). The soldier as victim: peering through the looking glass. British Journal of Criminology, 51(6), 900–917.
McGarry, R., & Walklate, S. (2015). Victims: Trauma, testimony and justice. Abingdon: Routledge.
McGuire, M., & Dowling, S. (2013). Cyber crime: A review of the evidence. In Summary of key findings and implications. Home Office Research report (Vol. 75). London: Home Office. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246749/horr75-summary.pdf
ONS. (2017a). Crime in England and Wales: year ending Mar 2017. Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingmar2017
ONS. (2017b). Emotional and physical impact on victims of incidents of computer misuse, by offence type, year ending March 2017, Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW). Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/adhocs/007462emotionalandphysicalimpactonvictimsofincidentsofcomputermisusebyoffencetypeyearendingmarch2017crimesurveyenglandandwalescsew
ONS. (2020). Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2019. Retrieved from https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2019#fraud
Rypi, A., Burcar, V., & Åkerström, M. (2019). Refraining from reporting crimes: accounts from young male crime victims with an immigrant background. Nordic Social Work Research, 9(2), 131–146.
Shapland, J., Willmore, J., & Duff, P. (1985). Victims in the criminal justice system. Aldershot: Gower Publishing.
Spalek, B. (2006). Crime victims. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Van Wilsem, J. (2013). Hacking and harassment—Do they have something in common? Comparing risk factors for online victimization. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 29(4), 437–453.
Walklate, S. (2012). Victimology (Routledge revivals): The victim and the criminal justice process. Abingdon: Routledge.
Wall, D. (2017). Crime, security and information communication technologies: The changing cybersecurity threat landscape and its implications for regulation and policing. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/abstract=3005872 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3005872
Wall, D. S. (2008). Cybercrime, media and insecurity: The shaping of public perceptions of cybercrime. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 22(1–2), 45–63.
Wolak, J., & Finkelhor, D. (2016). Sextortion: Findings from a survey of 1,631victims. New Hampshire: Crimes Against Children Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/Sextortion_RPT_FNL_rev0803.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Button, M., Blackbourn, D., Sugiura, L., Shepherd, D., Kapend, R., Wang, V. (2021). Victims of Cybercrime: Understanding the Impact Through Accounts. In: Weulen Kranenbarg, M., Leukfeldt, R. (eds) Cybercrime in Context. Crime and Justice in Digital Society, vol I. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60527-8_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60527-8_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-60526-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-60527-8
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)