Over the last twenty years, a technological revolution has occurred, as computers are now an essential element of today's society. Large computers are used to track reservations for the airline industry, process billions of dollars for banks, manufacture products for industry, and conduct major transactions for businesses because more and more people now have computers at the home and office. As a result of our dependency on computers we as a society are susceptible to computer crime to a certain extent. Along with the growing use of computers comes widespread computer crime. The rise in computer crime can be attributed to the increase in the number of users. The Internet offers a whole new platform form for almost every crime that could be perpetrated in the streets. These online crimes take advantage of the very same technologies that make the Internet possible. .
People commit computer crimes because of society's declining ethical standards more than any economic need. According to experts, gender is the only bias. The profile of today's non-professional thieves crosses all races, age groups and economic strata. Computer criminals tend to be relatively honest and in a position of trust: few would do anything to harm another human, and most consider their crime to be truly dishonest. Most are males: women have tended to be accomplices, though of late they are becoming more aggressive. Computer Criminals tend to usually be "between the ages of 14-30, they are usually bright, eager, highly motivated, adventurous, and willing to accept technical challenges." (Shannon, 16:2) "It is tempting to liken computer criminals to other criminals, ascribing characteristics somehow different from "normal" individuals, but that is not the case."(Sharp, 18:3) It is believed that the computer criminal "often marches to the same drum as the potential victim but follows an unanticipated path.
