As many Baltimore residents know, today is Cyber Monday — the online extension of Black Friday, and the busiest online sales day of the year. All day people will be surfing the web, looking for the best deals on electronics, home decor, shirts, toys, cooking materials, and any and all deals in between. It will be a major shopping day, and it is a crucial cog in the holiday economy.
But Cyber Monday also highlights another critical element to this holiday season: internet crime. With Cyber Monday comes the many people who use the internet to obtain other people’s personal information and financial data. With so much online shopping and so many transactions and data flying around the web today, there are bound to be some mishaps.
Cyber crime or internet crime has been steadily increasing over the last two decades, and that was to be expected. Once the internet became widely available, it was only a matter of time before more and more people with technological skill used their abilities to cause some havoc.
However, there are many people out there who unwittingly commit cyber crimes. As hard as it may be to believe that statement, it’s true. Many people unknowingly infringe internet laws — and what’s worse is that some laws pertaining to the internet and cyber offenses are unclear or simply not up to date.
People who are being pinched by cyber laws and internet crime laws need to consult an experienced criminal defense attorney to ensure that their rights are being protected in a case that is sure to be aggressively prosecuted.
Source: City A.M., “Cyber Monday UK 2014: A great day for online shoppers — and for internet crime,” Sophie Bevan, Dec. 1, 2014
