PAPER WRITTEN IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE ESSAY CONTEST ON

CYBER CRIME

BY

ONUOHA, MAUREEN CHIZOBA

C/O MR. DIKE G. OKORONKWO,
PLOT 607 MONSTERRADO STREET, (NEAR RUSSEL CENTRE)
WUSE ZONE 4, ABUJA, NIGERIA
2348055954286

27TH MAY, 2005

onuchizoba@yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION
Over the past twenty years, unscrupulous computer users have continued to use the computer to commit crimes; this has greatly fascinated people and evoked a mixed feeling of admiration and fear. This phenomenon has seen sophisticated and unprecedented increase recently and has called for quick response in providing laws that would protect the cyber space and its users. The level of sophistication has gone high to the point of using the system to commit murder and other havoc. The first recorded cyber murder committed in the United States seven years ago according to the Indian Express, January, 2002 “has to do with an underworld don in hospital to undergo a minor surgery. His rival goon hired a computer expert who altered his prescriptions through hacking the hospital’s computer system. He was administered the altered prescription by an innocent nurse, this resulted in the death of the patient”[i]

This work seeks to define the concept of cyber-crime, identify reasons for cyber-crime, how it can be eradicated, look at those involved and the reasons for their involvement, we would look at how best to detect a criminal mail and in conclusion, proffer recommendations that would help in checking the increasing rate of cyber-crimes and criminals.

WHAT IS CYBER – CRIME?
Cyber-crime by definition is any harmful act committed from or against a computer or network, it differs according to McConnell International, “from most terrestrial crimes in four ways: they are easy to learn how to commit, they require few resources relative to the potential damages