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32 Crim. Just. Stud. 1 (2019)

handle is hein.journals/cjscj32 and id is 1 raw text is: CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDIES Routledae 2019, VOL. 32, NO. 1, 1-15 .:: https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2018.1532420 Taylor & Francis Group ARTICLE America's most wanted criminals: comparing cybercriminals and traditional criminals Brian Paynea, David C. May' and Lora Hadzhidimovaa aDepartment of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA; bDepartment of Sociology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Reports of cybercrime have escalated over the past decade. While Received 15 September 2018 these crimes have increased, our understanding about the Accepted 2 October 2018 dynamics surrounding cyber offenders has not kept pace. Few KEYWORDS studies have considered the characteristics of serious cyber crim- Cybercrime; international inals in comparison to other types of criminals. To fill this void in crime; cybersecurity the literature, we examine a sample of cybercriminals appearing on the FBls Most Wanted List and compare the characteristics of these offenders to other most wanted offenders. Results suggest that the most wanted cyber offenders are similar to other offen- ders in that it is a male-dominated offense category, but they are different from other offenders in that they are younger and more likely to exhibit certain types of physical and lifestyle characteris- tics. Implications for policy and future research are provided. Introduction Concern about cybercrime has escalated in recent times. Much of the concern has focused on an apparent increase in the number of cyber offenses perpetrated globally. Varying estimates point to an alarming rate of cyber offending. In 2016, cybercrime was reported as the second most commonly reported crime across the world (O'Driscoll, 2018). One estimate suggests that more than 3.8 million records are stolen from breaches every day (Brooks, 2017). Another estimate suggests that worldwide costs from cybercrime will escalate to 6 billion a year by 2021 (Morgan, 2018). These stagger- ing estimates prompted investor Warren Buffett to describe cybercrime as 'the number one problem with mankind' (Oyedele, 2017). Much more could be written about the extent of cybercrime. Many commentators have shared estimates painting a picture of an international problem that is sure to grow in the coming years. While thousands of articles have referred to this growing number of cybercrimes, much less has been written about those behind these cybercrimes (e.g. the cybercriminals). To fill this void in the literature, in this study we examine the similarities and differences between suspects appearing on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Specific attention is given to the characteristics of traditional offenders appearing on the list, white-collar offenders identified as 'most wanted' offenders, and cybercrime offenders CONTACT David C. May dmay@soc.msstate.edu = Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University, Bowen 207, P.O. Box C, Mississippi State, MS 39759 © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

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