Psychological Theories: The Correlation Between Socialization And Crime

There are several psychological theories that have been applied to criminal activity. These theories are believed to impact moral growth and personality ailments in relation to crime. White-collar crimes and strain theory which is a social structure theory as well as hackers and learning theories which is a social process theory are discussed. Social structure theory states that poor individuals are the ones that commit crimes over middle and rich individuals. Criminals who do not have an equal opportunity are strained and will more likely to be involved in crime states the strain theory. This is on the premise that the primary goal of citizens is material wealth. Which contradicts the criminals who usually commit digital crimes, who

Basically social process theories analyze peer pressure situations. The particular theory researched was hackers and learning theories. Hackers have their own culture and have established their own values, which are bad with illegal intent but others that are set to help their society. Yes, some hackers steal millions of dollars from banks, but other legitimately commit legal actions. Which are rationalized due to what they may accomplish by their skill and ability, within the hacker community. One example of a hacking situation, are the exploits of the world’s most attractive hacker. In 2010, one of the largest cybercriminal cases had been investigate. Kristina Svechinskaya and 37 others allegedly used dummy bank accounts, fake passports and a Zeus Trojan to steal $3 million from U.S. banks and another $9 million British banks (Ingersoll, 2013). Svechinskaya's role was to allegedly open at least five accounts under her own name, along with two other aliases "Anastasia Opokina" and "Svetlana Makarova (Ingersoll, 2013)." The accounts were opened at Bank of America and Wachovia, which had $35,000 in fraudulent deposits. Svechinskaya and associates had withdrawn approximately $11,000 from three

Svechinskaya, one of four New York University students involved in the heist. Investigators say the crime was organized and planned in Eastern Europe, and eventually implemented in New York. This is known as one of the largest cybercriminal cases in relation to a Trojan keylogger used to steal account passwords. The criminals then used the passwords to obtain at least "$2 million" a month (Ingersoll, 2013). Svechinskaya pled guilty on Nov. 19, 2010, and faced up to 40 years in jail but she signed a personal recognizance bond and was released under $25,000 bail. She was later ordered to pay $35,000 in damages and restitution (Ingersoll, 2013). Hackers are often motivated by the prospect of a big payday. Psychological theories explain what motivates criminal to attack. If you can understand who would want to do anyone harm and what can be gained. Law enforcement can better protect an organization and their client’s information.

References

Chisholm, J. F. (2014). Review of the status of cyberbullying and cyberbullying prevention. Journal of Information Systems Education, 77.

Ingersoll, G. (2013, March 5). 'World's Sexiest Computer Hacker' To Be Sentenced This Spring. Retrieved from Business insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/kristina-svechinskaya-verdict-in-spring-2013-3

Rivituso, J. (2014). Cyberbullying victimization among college