The internet has benefited everyone for over two decades, opening new prospects and making the world a global village. However, even with the benefits of the internet, some people are using it to commit internet fraud. California is home to big tech companies like Silicon Valley, which explains the rise in internet fraud cases, also called cybercrime.

Cybercrime is a blanket word describing several online fraud cases like phishing, hacking, scams, identity theft, cyberstalking, child porn, and internet romance scams. The crimes are different, but the unifying factor is that they happen online. The typical California cybercrimes and their penalties are explained below to help you understand what is at stake and why you should hire a profound criminal attorney to prevent a conviction.

Overview of California Cybercrime

Otherwise called internet fraud, cybercrime is any form of internet use to engage in fraud or crime. Cybercrime is defined under state and federal law, depending on the crime. In 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and other agencies established the Internet Crime Complaint Center, receiving at least 300,000 Internet fraud cases, 10% from California. The same year, Californians reported losing over $46.3 million in cybercrime.

With the rise in cybercrimes, the state established the eCrime Unit to investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of the crime. The common cybercrimes in the state fall into three classifications:

  • Fraudulent Schemes perpetrated through email and the internet.
  • Phishing.
  • Hacking.

These and other cybercrimes are further explained below.

Internet Fraudulent Schemes

Fraud encompasses deceiving others to surrender valuable items, usually money. The offense can happen face to face, through mail, or by phone. And because today many people use the internet for communication, fraud has become prevalent on the internet.

Several fraud schemes happen online. The most prevalent are:

Non-Delivery Merchandise Fraud

The fraudulent scheme happens when individuals selling merchandise online request payment from the buyer but fail to deliver. For instance, Peter advertises designer shoes for sale on an auction site at a price cut. Some of Peter's postings are for shoes from other sites. He requests his buyers to wire the funds to a foreign account, but Peter never delivers the merchandise once the money is wired.

Advance Fee Fraud

Perpetrators of advance fee fraud post online classified ads, giving interested buyers great offers on expensive merchandise. They then request an advance as a shipment fee, only to fail to deliver the products. For example, Carol posts online classified ads, giving internet users amazing deals on secondhand vehicles. When interested buyers contact her, she informs them the car they are interested in is far from the buyers' locations but can deliver the auto to them at a $900 fee. Carol insists that the payment should be made to an overseas bank account in advance. Once the buyers wire the money, Carol never transports the vehicle or contacts the buyers.

Real Estate Overpayment fraud

This type of internet fraud scheme happens when you respond to an advertisement for a rental apartment on a classified site. You email the property manager or landlord, claiming to live abroad but will relocate to the United States for studies and are interested in renting the apartment.

When you and the landlord reach an agreement, you send a cashier's check from an overseas bank account, but the figure on the check is much higher than what was agreed upon. You then pretend to have erred when writing the check and request the property manager to cash the check but send the extra funds to a different overseas bank account, claiming the funds will be easier to transfer to a new account for a bank based in America.

After cashing the check and wiring the extra money to the new account, the landlord discovers the check is fake and loses the money.

Work-at-Home Scams

In these fraudulent schemes, fake corporations offer lucrative employment opportunities to work remotely from home but request prospective employees for a registration payment to commence work. However, it later turns out that the employer and the positions are non-existent.

Lottery Scams

Otherwise known as prize sweepstakes, lottery scams happen when you email a recipient, informing them they have won a lottery and will obtain their funds after paying taxes and other fees. Once the email recipient wires the money you demanded as taxes, they discover the prize is non-existent.

These forms of internet fraud schemes are prosecuted under federal law. The facts the prosecutor must prove are:

  • You schemed or planned to engage in fraud.
  • You had specific intentions to defraud.
  • You utilized electronic communication like email to accomplish your scheme.

The federal DA does not have to show that the fraudulent scheme was successful.

When the prosecutor demonstrates all the crime's aspects and secures a guilty verdict, you are sentenced to at most twenty years of federal prison incarceration or asked to pay a fine.

Phishing Schemes

Also known as identity theft or credit card fraud, Phishing is an offense that happens when you trick an internet or email user into unintentionally sharing their identification or confidential details for use in criminal activity.

  1. Identity Theft

California statutes that prescribe phishing include PEN 530.5 (identity theft). You face phishing charges under this law when you illegally acquire another party's confidential information, like a Social Security Number (SSN), through email.

When you face charges under this statute, the prosecutor must demonstrate particular facts to be convicted:

  • You deliberately acquired another party's personal identifying details and utilized the info illegally without authorization from the owner.
  • You obtained or kept someone's identity information without permission and intending to engage in fraud.
  • You sold, furnished, or transferred confidential identifying details belonging to someone else, devoid of their approval, and with plans to participate in a fraudulent scheme.
  • You sold or provided someone's identifying information while fully aware the details could be used in fraudulent activity.

For purposes of this statute, personal identifying details or information include:

  • Name, phone number, and physical address.
  • SSN.
  • Driver's permit or license number.
  • Pins or passwords.
  • Birth date.
  • Passport numbers.
  • Birth or death certificate details.
  • Bank account information.

Unlawful or illegal purpose means engaging in less obvious action with someone's personal details, like borrowing money in another person's name.

You risk severe penalties when the DA successfully proves all the crime's aspects. The punishment depends on whether the prosecutor prefers misdemeanor or felony charges, your specific conduct, and your criminal history. The court can impose a monetary fine or send you to prison for 12, 26, 24, or 36 months.

  1. Credit Card Fraud Statutes

Another common type of phishing is credit card fraud, codified under PEN 484e. The statute criminalizes using email or the internet to gather other individuals' credit card numbers for use in unauthorized activities.

When you engage in any form of cybercrime to obtain someone's credit card details, you will face a PEN 484e violation charge if the following is true:

  • You sell, handover, or deliver the details without permission from the cardholder and with the motive to commit a fraud crime like grand theft.
  • Obtain card details from at least four people within one year when you reasonably believe the information was acquired illegally.

Acquiring another party's card details without their approval and with plans to defraud, use, trade, or convey the details to another individual is petty theft.

The penalties for phishing under PEN 484e hinge on whether your conduct was charged as grand or petty theft. The DA filed grand larceny as a wobbler, and a guilty verdict can lead to 12, 16, 24, or 36 months of incarceration.

Conversely, petty theft is a misdemeanor whose conviction attracts no more than six months of jail incarceration or a monetary court fine of no more than $1,000.

  1. Anti-Phishing Act

You risk punishment for phishing under PEN 484e and PEN 530.5 when you acquire other people's info through cybercrime and succeed in phishing.

Additionally, the legislature realized the need to punish those who failed in phishing by passing the Anti-Phishing Act. The law was enacted in 2005 prohibiting the unlawful use of webpages, the internet, or email to induce individuals into sharing confidential details like SSNs, passwords, or card numbers by parties faking to be businesses or professionals but lacking the necessary permits or authorizations.

A violation of the Act does not attract any criminal penalties. However, you could faca civil suit filed by the state attorney general or the person who suffered harm from your violation.

If the claimant wins the civil suit, you pay $0.5 million or $1.5 million for participating in phishing or other cybercrimes.

California Hacking

Hacking is another prevalent cybercrime involving accessing a computer, its data, or its network without authorization and for unlawful reasons. PEN 502 is the statute that prescribes unauthorized computer access, also called hacking. The statute criminalizes specific behaviors and imposes penalties for the offenses listed below:

  • (1) Offense

The first offense the statute prohibits is deliberately accessing and, without approval, changing, damaging, rescinding, deleting, or using computer systems, data, or networks to conceive or execute a plan to extort, defraud, or wrongfully control or obtain money or information. The prosecutor files the offense as a wobbler. When the court finds you guilty of a misdemeanor, you risk jail incarceration for at most twelve months and a $5,000 court fine. A felony guilty verdict attracts court fines of no more than $10,000 or jail incarceration for 16, 24, or 36 months.

  • (2) Offense

Similarly, PEN 502 prohibits the behavior of intentionally accessing and without authorization obtaining, copying, or using a computer, its data, or network. The conduct is a wobbler and attracts the same penalties as the offense (1).

  • (3) Offense

Another conduct PEN 502 prohibits is deliberately and without approval utilizing or instigating the use of computer services. If the cost of the computer services used does not exceed $950 or the victim of the hacking did not sustain "injury," the crime is a misdemeanor whose punishment is at most twelve months of jail incarceration or $5,000 in court fines for a first offense. The term "injury" for purposes of this offense means any alterations, deletion, or destruction of computer data, system, or network.

Engaging in the same behavior for the second time, "causing injury," where the victim suffers damages of at least $5,000 or uses at least $950 in computer services, is a wobbler offense. Here, the penalties are the same as those of offense (1).

California Cyberstalking

PEN 646.9 defines stalking as harassing or threatening someone else to the extent the individual fears for their safety or that of their immediate family. With the rampant use of the internet and advancements in technology, many people are opting for the internet to stalk others. Stalking that happens through electronic communication gadgets is known as cyberstalking, which is another form of cybercrime. The communication devices used for cyberstalking are:

  • Fax machines.
  • Text messages.
  • Video messages.
  • Landline or cellular phones.
  • Email.

When prosecuting the crime, the DA must demonstrate the following facts:

  • You maliciously and knowingly harassed someone.
  • Your threats to the victim were credible.
  • You put the victim in reasonable fear for their safety or that of their immediate family.
  • You communicated the threats electronically.

Cyberstalking is a wobbler, and the prosecutor has the discretion to charge you with a felony or misdemeanor, depending on your criminal record and the nature of your case.

A misdemeanor attracts twelve months in jail and $1,000 in court fines. Conversely, a felony attracts at most 60 months of prison incarceration and $1,000 in court fines. Also, you risk registration as a sexual predator if you stalk the victim for sexual gratification.

California Cyberbullying

Bullying refers to harassing, intimidating, threatening, or humiliating an individual. When this behavior happens through electronic means, it is known as cyberbullying. No law directly addresses cyberbullying. The offense takes many forms, including:

  • Sending hate emails, comments, or messages.
  • Creating a fake profile to mock or impersonate someone.
  • Encourage other internet users to bully someone.
  • Spreading lies online about a person.

Cyberbullying is a misdemeanor, and when the court finds you guilty, you risk at most twelve months in jail and court fines of no more than $1,000.

Child Pornography

Child porn refers to any material (film, photograph, videotape, or negative) depicting sexual behavior like anal intercourse, sexual penetration, masturbation, or oral copulation by a child under 18.

California PEN 311 prohibits the production, sending, duplication, possession, printing, and advertising of child porn. Furthermore, you could face charges for persuading an underage person to participate in the production of child pornography.

The prosecutor secures a guilty verdict under this statute if they demonstrate that:

  • You deliberately possessed, transported, advertised, or printed material depicting a minor under 18 engaging in sexual conduct.
  • During the crime, you were aware the material depicting underage persons engaging in sexual conduct.

The DA files the crime as a wobbler or felony based on the circumstances. As a wobbler, it means you can face misdemeanor or felony charges. A misdemeanor conviction attracts at most twelve months in jail and court fines ranging from $1,000 to $2,500. A felony, on the other hand, attracts at most 36 months of prison incarceration.

A guilty verdict can also come with the duty to enlist as a sex offender.

Legal Defenses for California Cybercrime

You can easily be distracted when using the internet. If this happens and you end up clicking the wrong link by accident, sending the wrong email, or downloading material you did not intend, you risk a cybercrime charge. Besides, an unauthorized person can access your computer and use personal or confidential information to commit an internet crime. Whatever the reason for your internet-related crime, the case is not entirely hopeless because charges for cybercrime do not always result in conviction. The prosecutor only secures a guilty verdict by demonstrating all the facts of the crime beyond moral certainty. The evidentiary standard is not always attained, giving you the chance to contest the allegations.

When you have been apprehended or charged with any form of cybercrime, you must find an experienced criminal defense attorney to evaluate the case and craft solid defenses to prevent a conviction.

One of the arguments your attorney will make is asserting that you did not intend to engage in the internet crime. Crimes like child pornography require the prosecutor to show you knowingly participated in the crime. If you lack criminal intent or the prosecutor cannot demonstrate your mental attitude during the crime, you can avoid a conviction.

Internet crimes are not uncommon if you hold a particular position. When an alleged offense like hacking or phishing happens on the job, your attorney can claim that your conduct was reasonably necessary to the performance of your duties or that it is within your employment scope.

Also, you can argue that the police misidentified you. Evidence for internet crimes is mainly found on computers or other electronic devices. Nevertheless, the police can trace the offense to the wrong device. Under the circumstances, your attorney will argue that the IP address is correct, but your computer was not used to perpetrate the offense.

Find an Experienced Cybercrimes Defense Attorney Near Me

If you face charges for a cyber or internet offense, you must know that the penalties on the line are life-altering. So, the best way to defend your rights and freedom is to hire an attorney with knowledge of the internet and computer crime statutes. At the Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we have competent attorneys ready to craft solid defenses for a positive result. Call us at 424-333-0943 to discuss your charges.