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Criminal Law & Justice vocabulary · Crimes & Offences

Cybercrime

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

/ˈsaɪbəkraɪm/nounCommon term

In criminal law & justice, cybercrime means: Crime committed using computers or the internet, such as hacking, online fraud, identity theft or spreading malicious software.

In Turkish: siber suç, bilişim suçu

How it is used

Uncountable for the whole area ('the rise of cybercrime') and countable for single acts ('a cybercrime'). Police forces have 'cybercrime units', and cases often need international cooperation because offenders and victims are in different countries.

Example sentences

  1. Cybercrime now accounts for a large share of reported fraud.

  2. She works for the national cybercrime unit.

  3. Many small businesses never report cybercrime.

Common collocations

  • cybercrime unit
  • victims of cybercrime
  • fight cybercrime
  • rise in cybercrime
  • fraudThe crime of deceiving people, for example with false information or fake documents, in order to get money, property or another advantage.
  • money launderingThe crime of hiding where illegal money came from by moving it through banks, businesses or other transactions so that it looks legal.
  • investigationThe process in which police or prosecutors collect facts and evidence to find out whether a crime was committed and who committed it.
  • offenceA formal word for an illegal act that the law punishes, from minor ones such as speeding to serious ones such as robbery.

More terms: Crimes & Offences

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.