The Internet and Con Artist
Any technology that
serves the "public good" can be perverted to serve an
unscrupulous few. The new cyber-crooks aren't
dumb. They see the uses of new technology in a different light than
honest people. Apparently, some people feel if there isn't a specific
law against what is being done, no matter how vile, it isn't
illegal!
Laws against fraud and
extortion are on the hooks, regardless of the means to perpetrate
them. But what about the crimes that haven't been categorized? In
Tom Standage's book, The Victorian Internet." Standage parallels
some of the problems faced by today's Internet use with early
problems introduced by the invention of the telegraph!
According
to Standage, one woman went into a telegraph office in 1878 to wire
someone $11.76. She changed the amount to $12 because she said she
was afraid that the loose change might get lost traveling over the
wire. The misunderstanding of technology continues today.
One of
the earliest documented demonstrations of the law not covering the
technology happened in 1886. It seems an Englishman named
Myers attempted to bribe an operator at the Exchange Telegraph
Company to delay the transmission of racing results so he could place
bets on the winners. He was arrested. but it was found he could not
be charged with damage, nor with delaying the mail, as telegraph was
not considered mail. Myers died before it was decided what crime he
had committed. There was no law against
his attempted misuse of technology. The other side of the coin is
the question "Are all laws the same to all people?”
One
on-line auction site is in a French court because someone offered
Nazi memorabilia for sale on their Web page in the United States. It
is illegal to sell that junk in France. The company must now find a
way to prevent breaking French law if it wants to continue doing
business on an international scale.
The
same question arises about pornography. What is and what isn't legal?
Can we stop any other countries for making what we consider obscene
available to the rest of the world? How about your E-mail? Is
anyone, other than the intended recipient, allowed to read, resend,
or print it without your permission? What about confidential
information you unknowingly "share" because you "comply'
with an Internet link? Pharmatrak, Inc. was recently sued for
violating the newly enacted Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
They were compiling data on a California man, via the innocuous
"cookies" placed on his personal computer hard drive, to
develop a profile for their pharmaceutical clients.
For a
quick look at' the Federal Trade Commission's list of the lop 10 "Dot
Cons," go to: http://www.ftc.govlbcp/conline/edca
ms/dotcon/lndcx.html
The
scams are out there, so be careful. We may end up with CyberPolice
after all.
George
Mindling ©
2000
