Victims and Legislative Solutions Essay Example for Free

Victims and Legislative Solutions Essay â€Å"knowing production, use or trafficking in counterfeit or unauthorized access devices such as any card, plate code, account number, electronic serial number personal identification number, that can be used to obtain money, goods, services, or any other thing of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds† (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Despite these measures in place, cybercrime is still a massive problem. This is due to the fact that hiring and retaining skilled investigators is a daunting task because private companies offer a higher salary and better benefits than the federal government (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Also, â€Å"staff rotation policies in place at certain law enforcement organizations† make it difficult for law enforcers to fully attend and address the situation properly (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Besides, it takes a year to train an investigator to be competent enough to handle his own case (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Individuals have to be trained because federal agencies lack resources to employ professional investigators (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). In addition, multiple jurisdictions in place makes the matter even more complicated to handle (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). â€Å"Law[s] used to address cybercrime differ across states and nations. For example, not all US states have anti-spam laws or anti-spyware laws Further, jurisdictional boundaries can limit the actions that federal, state, and local law enforcement can take to investigate cybercrime that crosses local, regional and national borders† (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Lastly, the complex nature of tracking an identify theft also poses a problem. â€Å"[C]ybercriminals can take steps to remain anonymous, making it difficult, if not impossible, to attribute a crime to them [this is because] [c]ybercriminals can be physically located in one nation or state, direct their crime through computers in multiple nations or states and store evidence for the crime on computers in yet another nation or state† (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Hence, cybercriminals are rarely caught and if they are apprehended, the â€Å"penalties are minimal Community service and parole are the usual sentence† (Identity Theft: How it Happens, 2000). Cybercriminals exist because engaging in identity theft enables them to acquire money and benefits such as material assets, medical insurance and tax returns without working conventionally to obtain them. Also, they are rarely caught because the system in place is disorganized and ineffective; that is why identity theft remains a big problem. A national and specialized agency should be set up to handle this situation. Resources should be allocated to this agency so that skilled investigators can be employed. This will speed the investigation process because individuals in the force do not have to be trained for a year to be able to effectively deal with cases. References: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. (2000, July 12). Identity Theft: How it Happens, Its Impact on Victims and Legislative Solutions. Retrieved January 20, 2008, from http://www.gao.gov/