Electronic crime
This sort of crime is also referred to as cybercrime, e-crime and hi-tech crime. Unfortunately, unlike 'traditional' bullying that took place (and still does) in the playground, cyber and text bullying can continue long after schools have closed their gates. Bullying on the internet can happen in two ways:
- By using email.
- By somebody setting up a site with the intention to 'target' an individual or group of people.
The increase of mobile phones has also led to text bullying. Sending threatening or bullying text messages is a criminal offence that the Police recognise as a crime.
Find out more information and advice on all aspects of online online bullying.
Internet crime
Internet-related crime is a term used to describe a range of different crime types that are committed or facilitated online. Internet crime falls into the following categories: paedophilia, internet fraud, junk email or ‘spam’ viruses hacking.
What you can do about Internet crime:
- Report incidents to your service provider.
- Report it by contacting your local police force.
- Leave it to the law enforcement experts instead of carrying out ‘vigilante’ investigations – particularly around the identification of online paedophiles. This could be counter-productive to official investigations, could put you into a position where you may risk breaking the law yourself and, most importantly, could endanger the safety of real children.
This page was last updated on 3 October 2009
