The Crime of Electronic Fraud: A Sociological Approach

Abstract

This research paper aims to define electronic fraud as a type of cybercrime that showcases the cyber risks the world is experiencing in the light of modern techniques and information and communication technologies, by targeting automated data-processing systems within a virtual environment "Computer and Internet", with the sole aim of achieving illegal material profits using fraudulent methods that show technical knowledge and information control skills, and the severity of the crime reflects the extent of its implications on individuals and institutions.

In this article, we start by identifying electronic fraud and defining the characteristics of the cyber offender involved in it, then, review the most common techniques used to commit this crime backed up by citing some concrete cases,and finally, we proceed to analyze the underlying factors of cybercriminal behavior, and provide a sociological analysis of cyber fraud from the Risk Society theory and the Routine Activities theory's perspective.