NCJ Number
90758
Journal
Rassengna penitenziaria e criminologica Issue: 1-2 Dated: (January-June 1979) Pages: 53-89
Date Published
1979
Length
37 pages
Annotation
Computer crime has evolved with the development of a new technological environment in the business world, whose dependence on electronic data processing (EDP) seems to be an undeniable fact.
Abstract
Such dependence will be nearly total as soon as the system called electronic funds transfer system (EFTS) will be realized on a large scale. This system will make it possible to completely automate commercial transactions. Accompanying these developments is the growth of computer crime, whose object is the computer itself. Computer crime assumes a number of forms. The various types of computer crime are classified and a case-list is presented, chiefly relating to the United States and to the Federal Republic of Germany. It sketches a psychological portrait of the computer criminal, with reference to the investigations carried out by Parker and Bequai in the United States and by Teidemann and Sieber in Germany. The social dangerousness of such a form of criminality is undeniable, if one considers the hidden number of crimes committed and devastating costs involved. The implementation of EFTS will likely increase computer crime, with a related decrease of conventional property crimes. The judicial systems of the Western world do not seem capable of dealing with this new technological challenge. International cooperation is required to effectively repress this emerging new type of criminality. A total of 95 footnotes are included. (Author summary modified)