Email hacking crime

However, the jury was not pursuaded and he was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison with a recommendation to spend his time in a halfway house. This case is illustrative of the types of crimes an email hacker may face including: 1 Wire Fraud; 2 Computer Fraud; 3 Identity Theft; and 4 Obstruction of Justice.

Wire fraud involves the use of a computer, television, telephone, or radio to obtain property or money from another person by and through deception or trickery. Even though taking money is common through Internet scams, however, stealing personal and confidential information also constitutes wire fraud. One important requirement for wire fraud is that the emails, telephone calls, or wire transmissions have to go between two or more states or countries. Computer fraud is similar to wire fraud but it only applies to computers.

The law applies only to computers used:. Generally, such information is used by the culprit i. It can also be hacked. When Gmail customers lose or forget their passwords, they're asked a security question such as What was your mother's maiden name?

What was the name of your first dog? By using Google against itself, hackers can do an Internet search using the name of the intended victim and asking about the above answers to the security questions. Chances are some of that information is online somewhere, and with a few Internet searches, might be accessible to a hacker.

The hacker then poses as the Gmail customer, says he lost his password, and is ready with the answer when the service asks the security question. Again, the penalty would be closing of the hacker's Gmail account, but probably nothing more severe than that unless the crime happens at the workplace and records are passed on to law enforcement. Some of the most grievous cases of email hacking happen in the workplace. Oftentimes the motive is revenge and the hacker is a recently terminated employee.

These cases can also be the ones law enforcement chooses to prosecute because of the evidence left behind. In one such case an information systems manager for an organ donation database was fired and was able to hack into her email account and maliciously delete important data before the company locked her account.

She was arrested, tried and convicted of unauthorized computer use and was sentenced to two years in prison. Even though they're perpetuated online, the most blatant email hacks can be prosecuted with theft, fraud, destruction of property, forgery and even counterfeiting laws.

While the most common penalty is loss of email account services, in some instances fines, prison sentences and a combination of these two penalties can result from successful prosecution of email hacking.

The Department of Justice DOJ coordinates with law enforcement agencies across the country to punish email hackers through its Cybercrime unit. The DOJ trains investigators, maintains a database of hackers and email scams, and also advises the court system on penalties. These offices focus exclusively on the prosecution of computer fraud, including email hacking, and intellectual property theft.