The 5 Most Egregious Internet Criminals of the Decade

Cyber crime is a fairly recent trend in the past ten years since the emergence of the internet and information super-highway. Just like crime in the physical world, internet crimes can range. Anything from fraud, to scams, to illegal downloading. And just like the crime itself, the criminals can be unbelievable in their unflinching audacity.

1) Guerilla Black

Hailing from Compton, Guerilla Black enjoyed a successful rapping career since 2004. Despite releasing two studio albums and four mix tapes, it seems this was not enough. In July of 2012, news broke that Guerilla was arrested on a 22 count indictment that involved more than 27,000 stolen credit and debit card numbers and over $150,000 from those accounts.

2) Mafiaboy

The alias of Michael Demon Calce, Mafiaboy was only 15 years old when he launched several D.O.S. attacks on major internet sites such as Yahoo, Amazon, Dell, and CNN. He nicknamed it Project Rivolta. In February 2000, major federal law institutions worked themselves into a panic. Still in high school, he was the most wanted man for the FBI in cyberspace. These days, Calce claims it was the unwitting mistake of an adolescent boy.

3) Dreamboard

In 2011, this members-only system was permanently shut down and dismantled by the FBI with over 500 individuals under surveillance and 72 major members indicted by the courts. Dreamboard was an online child-pornography bulletin board that specialized in the sexual exploitation of children 12 and under. Members to the pedophile site were arrested all over the world, from Canada, to the U.S.A., to Kenya, and Hungary. Only 13 of the original 72 major arrests have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

4) Lori Drew

Megan Meier was 13 years old. She walked upstairs to her room and hung herself with a belt. A boy on the internet had told her life would be better off without her. Only this guy did not exist, and the online profile of this fictitious youth was created by the mother of Meier's former best friend, Lori Drew. The indictment against the elder Drew suggested this was revenge against Meier for spreading rumors about the Drew daughter. Her guilty verdict of 2008 was overturned in 2009.

5) Dharun Ravi

Another suicide, this one of college student Tyler Clementi when an intimate moment with his lover was recorded by his roommates and broadcasted via webcam without his knowledge. Dharun Ravi, the most sensational offender in this particular case, and his defense team tried to argue that the broadcast was accidental and that Ravi bore no responsibility in Clementi's death. In March 2012, Ravi was found guilty on all charges and served 20 days of a 30 day jail sentence.

Author Bio:

Peter Wendt is a writer from Austin, Texas. He relies on the Internet for his occupation to thrive, and is extremely wary of criminals who abuse what the Internet has to offer. For this reason, he only trusts secure networks like this wifi hotspot business provider.