The authors provide an introduction to cybercrime classification systems, noting state and federal cybercrime laws and focusing on the Phillips and Colleagues' (2022) taxonomy; the report provides sections that discuss crimes that are currently, fully or partially assessed on the National Crime Victimization Survey, crimes not assessed on the NCVS that require additional research, and out-of-scope cybercrime types; it also provides recommendations for future measurement of cybercrime on the NCVS.
This report is an environmental scan of information on the types, definitions, and measurement of cybercrime and provides recommendations for potential revisions to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) that would broaden the NCVS’s ability to capture cybercrime victimization. The report presents research, evidence, and recommendations regarding (1) existing cybercrime classifications/taxonomies, definitions, and measures (including state and federal laws and classifications from the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine); (2) the existing measurement of cybercrime in the NCVS and a detailed comparison to the comprehensive cybercrime classification system by K. Phillips and colleagues (2022); and (3) recommendations for revision to the measurement of cybercrime in the NCVS.