OBSTACLES

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Electronic crime is difficult to investigate and prosecute—investigators have to build their case purely on any records left after the transactions have been completed. Add to this the fact that electronic records are extremely (and sometimes transparently) malleable, and that electronic transactions currently have fewer limitations than their paper-based counterparts—and, you get a collection nightmare.

Computer transactions are fast, they can be conducted from anywhere (through anywhere, to anywhere), can be encrypted or anonymous, and have no intrinsic identifying features such as handwriting and signatures to identify those responsible. Any paper trail of computer records they may leave can be easily modified or destroyed, or may be only temporary. Worse still, auditing programs may automatically destroy the records left when computer transactions are finished with them.

Because of this, even if the details of the transactions can be restored through analysis, it is very difficult to tie the transaction to a person. Identifying information such as passwords or PIN numbers (or any other electronic identifier), does not prove who was responsible for the transaction—such information merely shows that whoever did it either knew or could get past those identifiers.

Even though technology is constantly evolving, investigating electronic crimes will always be more difficult due to the ease of alteration of the data and the fact that transactions may be done anonymously. The best you can do is to follow the rules of evidence collection and be as assiduous as possible.

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