Specific Features of Persons Committing High-Tech Crimes in an Organized Group
Vitaly V. Polyakov · Russian Journal of Criminology · 2024
The author examines specific features of persons who commit high tech crimes in an organized criminal group or community. Special attention is paid to the distribution of roles in such groups, as well as the specific distinctive features of accomplices involved in these actions. The author used the criminal law typification of criminal group members to construct typical models of persons who commit high tech crimes. It is noted that the feature crucial for the neutralization of unlawful actions of the organizers (leaders) of such groups is their extreme anonymization, which allows them to stay unknown to most members of the group; this is achieved through special online services or anonymous messengers. Regarding accomplices-perpetrators, special attention is paid to digital technology specialists who develop and use hardware and software means of committing crimes. The presence of such specialists in a criminal group is a necessary condition for committing high tech crimes. The analysis of court and investigation practice shows that such persons, while having a high level of professional knowledge and skills, are often characterized by a low level of general culture and weak moral and volition qualities. Regarding accomplices-abettors, the author singles out a special group of insiders connected with the organizations that became the target of a distance assault, accomplices of high-tech crimes driven by the specialization of the organized group. One of such analyzed specializations is the contactless sale of narcotic substances through information-telecommunication networks. The author presents specific features of group participants specializing in the unlawful use of methods and technologies of social engineering. It is suggested that, in order to research the personal qualities of the participants of such groups based on the ethnic principles, the phenomenon of glocalization of organized criminal activities should be taken into account, as it is manifested together and simultaneously with the processes of their globalization. The obtained results should contribute to overcoming the negative factors that hinder the investigation and prevention of high-tech crimes.