Historical variability of computer crime: the process of expanding the object and subject of criminal attacks and its structure

Komarov Anton Anatolevich ORCID: 0000-0002-1330-4236 PhD in Law Associate Professor; Department of Criminal Law and National Security; Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management 630099, Russia, Novosibirsk region, Novosibirsk, Kamenskaya str., 52/1, office 503 reise83@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction.

First of all, I would like to draw attention to the fact that computer crime is the most vivid example of the historical variability of crime. Especially often in this context, it appears on the pages of educational literature. However, scientific sources often present this phenomenon as new and poorly understood. We want not only to emphasize the existence of such a property in crime, but also to delve into the problem, pointing out that computer crime in its current state is far from identical to the phenomenon that existed relatively recently – the same 30-40 years ago.

During this period of time, computer crime has gone through several independent stages in its development. Studying the properties of historical variability can deepen our understanding of it. Variability is reduced to describing the state of crime and explaining the reasons for such changes in relation to the past period of its historical development. Everything is going quite well in this part. In the last ten years, many works have been written that reveal the trends of modern computer crime: Prostoserdov (PhD, 2016); Mandryko (PhD, 2016); Kuznetsova (PhD, 2019); Kamko (PhD, 2020); Rodivilin (PhD., 2021); Evdokimov (PhD, 2021); Puchkov (PhD, 2022); Konev (PhD, 2022); Ilnitsky (PhD, 2022); Jafarli (PhD, 2022); Rodina (PhD, 2022); Turunova (PhD, 2022); Turkulets (PhD, 2023); Starostenko (PhD, 2023); Shipulin (PhD, 2024). We decided not to use earlier works as an example, which does not detract from the importance of previous years' research. At the same time, there is an obvious further differentiation of scientific research on computer crime. The subject area of scientific research is expanding for a reason. This scientific process corresponds to the objective patterns of computer crime development. However, this also has a serious drawback: certain areas of criminological research remain an independent initiative of those interested in this topic. In Russia, there is no targeted order for criminological research, as well as a coordinating force capable of setting priorities correctly.

The main focus of the work is on the fact that the development of computer crime is directly related to technological trends such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and quantum computing. At the same time, researchers are increasingly inclined to analyze the problems of dealing with modern technological challenges in the framework of information or cybersecurity. We see the situation a little differently. We believe that it should be viewed through the prism of historical materialism. Computer crime is not only the result of technological progress, but also a reflection of socio-economic processes. Economic crises, social inequality and the digital divide between countries create favorable conditions for its development. This makes it not just a technical problem, but also a challenge to basic economic relations. The purpose of our study is to show the cumulative amount of changes that have occurred with computer crime over the past quarter of a century, based on statistical material, identifying the real causes of existing trends in a materialistic way.

Materials and methods.

To begin with, let's touch on the general issues of methodology. In studying the problem, we stand on the positions of historical materialism, believing that this is the most productive way of understanding the surrounding reality ^[1]. The hypothesis is based on the assumption of the leading influence of basic economic relations on the state of computer crime. This dependence can be traced more fully the deeper we dive into the structural analysis of the motivation of modern criminals. It does not arise from scratch, but is the result of reflection on the reality surrounding a person. But this should not be taken in a vulgar, materialistic way. Like a number of our colleagues, we tend to dialectically consider the processes taking place in a historical context ^[2].

Moving forward is worth starting small. The knowledge of cause-and-effect relationships should be approached last, only after the discovery of a stable relationship of states, the correlation analysis of which will provide the necessary empirical basis for further statements ^{[3, p.350][1]}. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the special scientific method of our article. Obviously, it will be necessary to quantify the state of crime, for which the methods of calculating averages, growth rates, and structural analysis of the ratio of part to whole will be useful. Sufficient reliability of judgments is impossible without understanding the uniformity of the statistical array under study. To do this, you need to calculate the values of the variance, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation. Finally, to test the hypothesis, it is necessary to conduct a comparative analysis of the results obtained on the basis of criminal statistics data and our own sample studies.

Special attention, as well as a number of critical remarks, should be paid to the factual base formed by official criminal statistics. The basis is extracts from the form No. 4-EGS "Information on the state of crime and the results of the investigation of crimes." Its existence is due to the Order of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation dated January 17, 2020 No. 30 "On approval of the form of Federal Statistical Observation", where section 9 is of the greatest research interest: "Information on crimes committed using information and telecommunication technologies or in the field of computer information, identified and previously investigated by registration subjects". However, despite the interest of the scientific community in these data, their publication by the prosecutor's office has been discontinued since 2023. The Department of Legal Statistics of the Main Directorate of Legal Statistics and Information Technologies of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation also refuses to provide the requested information. This is reminiscent of the situation described by V. V. Luneev fifteen years ago, when the criminal law sector of the IGP RAS faced similar refusals ^{[4, p.29]}. Thus, the interaction between the scientific community and the leading agency responsible for criminal statistics in Russia remains unsatisfactory, which limits the involvement of volunteer researchers to address the challenges facing the state in combating crime.

The data available to us on the state of computer crime covers the period 2018-2023, since it is not possible to obtain complete information for 2024. Some of the research tasks were solved using summary reports on the state of crime published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Where appropriate, we have supplemented the analysis with comments on the results of the past year.

The shortcomings of official statistics are compensated by the results of a sample study of criminal case materials. We have analyzed 759 cases provided for in Articles 159, paragraph "d" of Part 3 of Articles 158, Articles 159.3 and 159.6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Research results, discovered addictions.

At the end of the 20th century, there were exactly two readings in the understanding of computer crime – in a narrow and broad sense. In the first case, computer crime covered crimes provided for in Chapter 28 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In a broad sense, these are all new ways of committing crimes using computer technology. The concept in a narrow sense differed from ordinary crime primarily as an object of criminal encroachment. At that time, the nascent branch of information law, defining the types of legally protected information (including computer information), only created the basis for distinguishing these categories. Ordinary crimes, on the contrary, were characterized by a wider range of objects and methods of commission ^{[5, p. 422]}.

In modern reality, the number of law enforcement facilities and objects of criminal encroachments in the field of computer crime has significantly expanded. Since we rely on the dialectical method of cognition, it should be recognized that the basic relations, that is, economic ones, determine the content of criminal activity. This allows us to answer a question that sometimes arises in criminology: why is the volume of registered street crime decreasing? Indeed, in this regard, J. I. Gilinsky may be right when he claims that criminals are gradually moving to the Internet ^{[6, p. 12]}. Can this statement be verified statistically? In our opinion, the answer should be positive. To test this hypothesis, it is necessary to proceed from the basic thesis: the motivation of computer criminals is shifting towards selfish motives. As part of the research, we have summarized summary statistical data on crimes committed using information and communication technologies, in accordance with List No. 25 of the Instructions of the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia dated 06/25/2024 "On the introduction of lists of articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation used in the formation of statistical reporting." A comparative analysis demonstrates that a number of acts classified as computer-related are either related to the effect of expanded reproduction of crime, or are directly related to other types of crime. Thus, the structure of computer crime can be represented as follows:

Figure 1. The structure of computer crime.

The main body (the "core of computer crime") They constitute mercenary property crimes. The most widespread are: the basic norm on criminal liability for fraud – art. 159 of the Criminal Code (2024 – 379.7 thousand; 2023 – 353.2 thousand; 2022 – 249.9 thousand; 2021 – 238.6 thousand); and theft of electronic funds – paragraph "d" of Part 3 of art. 158 of the Criminal Code (2024 105.9 thousand; 2023 – 119.2 thousand; 2022 – 113.6 thousand; 2021 – 156.8 thousand). Drug crimes are close in volume to the registration of thefts (2024 – 118.9 thousand; 2023 – 103.9 thousand; 2022 – 82.6 thousand; 2021 – 52 thousand). However, the increase here is due to changes in additional criteria for classifying certain types of computer crimes. 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely, the sale of narcotic drugs using mass media or electronic or information and telecommunication networks (including the Internet), the proportion of which reaches 78.5% of all registered acts of this kind.

Other crimes occupy a less significant share. However, it is necessary to make a reservation here. The specified structure of computer crime was calculated on the basis of a set of data on crimes committed for 2020-2023. But in 2024, 105,773 computer information crimes were registered. For comparison, in 2023, about 37,101 such crimes were registered; in 2021 – 10,027; in 2020 – 6,869. In recent years, we have observed multiple growth rates of this statistical category, which is equal to the maximum volume values in the entire history of observations since the introduction of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is necessary to clarify the structure of this population, since the bulk falls exclusively on Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Last year, its share was 99.6%. A similar situation was observed in previous years.

A similar state of affairs in criminal statistics could illustrate the thesis about the determination of computer crime by foreign policy reasons against the background of a special military operation (SVO). However, there are two objections here.

The first of them is related to the fact that a separate article of the Criminal Code, Article 274.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is devoted to the protection of the critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation. For which few crimes are recorded. The peak of the criminal activity of "foreign agents" occurred precisely in 2022. Thus, 114 crimes were registered in 2023; 519 in 2022; 159 in 2021; and 22 in 2020. A similar situation is observed with respect to the norm provided for in Article 274.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Administrative prejudice has a significant impact on the registration of this act (Articles 13.42 and 13.42.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation). For greater comparability of data, let's turn to judicial statistics and form No. 1-AP "Report on the work of courts of general jurisdiction in cases of administrative offenses." In 2023, 34 administrative cases involving 32 offenders were considered. In the first half of 2024, 22 cases were considered, and 18 persons were brought to justice. Obviously, the dynamics of delinquency is positive. Over the past year, it is logical to expect an increase in the number of cases and persons identified for administrative offenses. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the Judicial Department has not yet compiled statistics for the full reporting period. There is no criminal record for the same period of time (1.5 years), as no one has been prosecuted. A comparison of the data suggests that prejudice may be a relatively effective preventive measure. The decision to bring to administrative responsibility is usually preceded by a warning about the inadmissibility of violations of the law by an individual entrepreneur or a representative of a legal entity from among telecom operators. This is indirectly confirmed by the results of the prosecutor's checks. O. V. Kipkaev, Head of the Department for Supervision of the Enforcement of laws in the field of information technology and Information Protection at the Prosecutor General's Office, pointed out in a public statement that over the past 2.5 years, more than 155 thousand violations had been detected at critical information infrastructure facilities alone. However, for more detailed verification, statistical data for a number of future years are needed. In retrospect, the data on criminal records and administrative offenses that we are interested in are not comparable or even absent, since the norms on criminal and administrative liability were adopted relatively recently.

Nevertheless, this set of protective rules, as practice has shown, is capable of providing effective control over the traffic of information distributed on the Internet. In the absence of such regulations, major infrastructure projects to restrict access to information (such as blocking YouTube) would not be possible. Without fear of criminal sanctions, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities, in pursuit of profit, would not comply with the prohibitions of information law and the orders of Roskomnadzor.

The second objection is related to the study of materials from specific criminal cases. It seems that there have been no changes in criminal behavior and qualification rules in 2024 compared to previous years. If we consider the practice of applying Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then these are mainly encroachments on personal data by persons authorized by the employer to process them. It is difficult to assume that the volume of such crimes has increased 3.5 times in a year. Rather, their latent part is decreasing. But we wrote about this in our previous work ^[7]. What can really be expected in the field of criminal statistics is a redistribution of the statistical totality due to changes in the rules for classifying computer crimes related to the trafficking of personal data of Russians, in connection with the entry into force of art. 272.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by Federal Law No. 421 dated 11/30/2024.

Given the mercenary nature of most of these criminal attacks, we can state that the personal data of Russians is of little use to foreign criminals. Information in Russian still needs to be able to be used to commit theft. After the start of the special military operation, Russia was disconnected from the SWIFT international payment system. Therefore, it becomes difficult to take the stolen goods outside the Russian Federation.

Having concluded our reservation, let's return to the main idea of the article. It would seem that the presented structural analysis inevitably leads to the conclusion that computer technology affects the content of public relations. However, the data provided can be interpreted exactly the opposite. Modern computer crime increasingly resembles ordinary criminal, replacing, where possible, traditional methods of committing mercenary, mercenary-violent, sexual and drug crimes. Informatization acts as a derivative determinant, since its intensity and the very possibility of implementation are determined by the state of the economy.

Thus, in accordance with the trends in the development of economic relations, the objects of criminal encroachments themselves are changing, especially if we clarify their content within the framework of objects of civil rights. Increasingly, non-cash funds are becoming the subject of computer theft, which affects the content of the current criminal legislation ^[8]. Figure 2 shows a histogram illustrating the dynamics of the share of non-cash payments by individuals for services rendered and goods purchased.

Fig.2. Non-cash payments in Russia.

In the case of street fraud or pickpocketing, the modern victim has practically nothing to withdraw and turn to his advantage, except for bank cards. And since the desired result is the seizure of funds, the purpose of the crime is removed, as well as the moment of its completion. The effectiveness of criminal activity is decreasing. The probability of being exposed and caught red-handed when trying to "cash out" increases, and it comes to the point that G. E. Bitsadze has ceased to classify such crimes as "street crimes".

In other words, more and more often, instead of property rights (money), other property rights of a binding nature (cryptocurrency, non-cash funds) are becoming the subject of a crime. Such trends in the development of the financial system have prerequisites of an anti-criminal nature, since we are talking about mercenary common crime.

But at the same time, the presence of historical variability in crime allows it to adapt to this system of social control with greater or lesser effectiveness. This leads to the fact that the statistical totality of property crimes has been redistributed from theft to fraud for many years. This is confirmed in table No. 1.

Table 1. Redistribution in favor of fraud.

Undoubtedly, this statement can be criticized from the point of view that changes in criminal legislation have contributed to the redistribution of the statistical population. Of course, we do not deny this option. This has a direct impact on the state of criminal statistics in terms of forming lists of crimes that are considered to have been committed using information and communication technologies. But the data obtained over the course of a quarter of a century may also indicate that this is not a consequence of some internal patterns of accounting and registration discipline, but a real change in the qualitative indicators of crime. It is impossible to explain such a redistribution by simply changing the qualification rules, since the volume of recorded acts would then remain unchanged. It is also growing due to fraud, not theft, with a decreasing crime rate. It turns out that I. Ya. Foynitsky was right when he argued that with the development and complication of economic relations, the prevalence of fraud increases ^{[9, p.22]}.

At the same time, the situation with the registration of computer fraud and criminal schemes related to the use of electronic means of payment looks somewhat contradictory. Their volumes show negative growth rates. In 2024, 273 crimes were registered under Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; in 2023 – 2,461; in 2022 – 7,288; in 2021 – 10,258. According to Article 159.6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the following dynamics were observed over the same period of time: last year – 309 crimes; in 2023 – 417; in 2022 – 334; in 2021 – 431. It would seem that in the current economic situation, the number of such acts must steadily increase. There are two counterarguments to consider here.

The first is that these crimes are classified as highly professional, committed only if the perpetrator has sufficient knowledge in the field of computer science. As a result of such crimes, quite a lot of "digital" traces remain. Finding and recording of which in modern forensic science, although they cause some difficulties, are still being improved at a fairly rapid pace. Why do criminals who commit exclusively the crimes described above simply have to be able to hide the traces of their crimes? Criminal cases, of course, are initiated, especially under Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A careful reading of the criminal statistics suggests that all of them are suspended due to the impossibility of identifying the person who committed the crime, or the limited jurisdiction of the Russian Federation in relation to fugitives from the investigation and the court. So, in 2023, 2,890 criminal cases were suspended under Part 1 of Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, 5 more criminal cases were suspended under part 2 of the above article and one criminal case under part 3. Mathematically, it turns out that annually, under Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code, criminal cases are suspended even more than the facts of crimes are registered.

As for the application of Article 159.6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the situation here is even more bizarre. Before the adoption of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 48 dated November 30, 2017. "On judicial practice in cases of fraud, embezzlement and embezzlement", there was often an incorrect qualification of ordinary fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code) as computer fraud ^{[10, p.34]}. After that, in 2018, the level of registration of such decreased to our current values. The most logical hypothesis to explain what is happening is the assumption that he has always been like this, starting in 2012. And there are great difficulties in detecting and investigating fraud using electronic means of payment and computer fraud. Moreover, the problem lies not just in the lack of forensic techniques, but in the gap between practice and theory.

The second point is the amount of damage caused by such crimes in relation to the method of taking possession of property or rights to it. We have already observed a similar effect in the case of the redistribution of the statistical population from street crime to computer crime and from theft to fraud. Let's illustrate this with data (see Fig. 3) on the distribution of property damage caused by crimes under art. 159, paragraph "d" of Part 3 of art. 158, art. 159.6, art. 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. A total of 759 criminal cases for 2022-2023 were found in the random sample. The values of the variance, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation give us reason to assert that there is not one phenomenon in this statistical population, but several different ones. The damage caused by complex fraudulent schemes using special knowledge in the field of computer science to commit theft and commonplace common deception differ significantly in size. Moreover, in the first case, the activity of criminals is well organized and purposeful. The amount of the stolen is usually known to them in advance and is their criminal purpose. But for scammers, especially telephone ones, the amount of material damage caused will depend on the solvency of a particular victim and is often determined randomly. A similar feature has already been noted earlier by other researchers ^[11].

Due to these circumstances, it would be appropriate to talk about the possibility of statistical analysis only in terms of the average values of the damage caused (modes and medians). Thus, an analysis of criminal case data showed that the average amount of damage is 574 thousand rubles. At the same time, the fashion (the most common damage in the case file) is a relatively small amount – 15 thousand rubles. It is also worth noting that half of the damage caused lies below the median of 25 thousand rubles.

Fig. 3. The amount of material damage.

Therefore, the commission of an ordinary mercenary crime is a simpler and more rational practice of implementing selfish motives. And in the case of professional computer criminals, it may be a matter of competition (struggle) for selfish motives with others. There are also special studies on this subject ^{[12, p. 67]}.

The hypothesis of a close relationship between basic economic relations and the state of modern computer crime is confirmed by an analysis of its territorial distribution. Calculations of the crime rate for individual regions over the past 3 years indicate that crimes related to distance trading, fraudulent schemes, non-delivery of goods and consumer deception are quite common in those regions of our country that are geographically quite remote. In Figure 3, we see 10 leading regions in terms of the prevalence of online fraud in our country. All of them are located in the north and northeast of Russia, where goods are delivered by mail and courier services, because it is more convenient to buy them remotely.

Fig. 4. Ranking of regions by the level of Internet fraud.

For the most part, this circumstance coincides with the ranking of regions by the prevalence and applicability of non-cash payments by people living there. Data of the Savings Bank of Russia on the website сбериндекс.ги It is said that the Nenets Autonomous District (76.5%), the Republic of Sakha (73.8%) and the Chukotka Autonomous District (73.4%) remained the most "cashless" regions of the country in 2023. At the same time, growth compared to last year was observed in all regions. Non-cash trade was most actively developing in the Chukotka Autonomous District (+5.9 percentage points), the Karachay-Cherkess Republic (+5.6 percentage points) and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District (+5 percentage points).

Thus, it becomes obvious that the vector of motivational orientation of computer criminals varies depending on objective economic reality, rather than idealistic ideas about the mass digitalization of the consciousness of Russians. Social existence, which has defined public consciousness for a specific period of time, is entering a new phase of historical development. When public consciousness itself determines to some extent the development of other social relations, including economic ones. At this point in time, this is exactly the state of affairs we are witnessing. But the significance of this circumstance should not be absolutized and rearrange the cause and effect.

Conclusions.

The work we have done allows us to formulate a number of key conclusions:

1. Historical variability as a key characteristic of computer crime.

Computer crime demonstrates a vivid example of historical variability, evolving along with the development of technology and socio-economic conditions. Over the past 30-40 years, the objects and objects of criminal attacks have expanded significantly. However, the ranking of the factors contributing to her condition should be stated in the following order:

a) changes in the economy that create competitive advantages for business entities when using computer technologies and encourage them to develop digital platforms (digital economy);

b) transformation of business-sponsored communication technologies;

c) corresponding changes in public relations and mass consciousness.

If at the end of the 20th century the object of computer crime was mainly data and information systems, today it includes non-cash funds, cryptocurrencies, electronic payment systems, personal data and even critical information infrastructure. This indicates that crime is adapting to the new realities of the digital economy.

2. The study of the properties of historical variability.

The study of the properties of historical variability in relation to crimes related to encroachments on legally protected computer information shows that in this case, economic reasons are more significant. Other factors, such as political ones, do not correspond to the data on the territorial distribution of this type of crime and the predominant motivation of computer criminals studied based on the materials of criminal cases. At the same time, a specific part of professional computer crimes (including mercenary ones – Articles 159.3 and 159.6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) has been recorded worse in recent years. This circumstance should be linked to the reorientation of the activities of law enforcement agencies to the detection and investigation of ordinary crimes. Even the creation of specialized departments to organize the fight against the illegal use of information and communication technologies in the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2023 did not significantly change the situation. Of course, detection and disclosure are increasing. However, these indicators are improved by the simplest fraudulent schemes. The law enforcement experience of those who have been retested for service in these units allows them to effectively implement their law enforcement function only in this way. It is obvious that extensive registration of computer crimes is no longer possible, since an exponential increase in the number of registered crimes will lead to a disproportionate increase in workload. Now more than ever, it is important to set targets, as well as their indicators. This will serve the purpose of objectification and greater openness of the summary data on the performance of the relevant departments. And the scientific community will be able to analyze these results and offer the right solutions to the practice in the main areas of countering computer crime, taking into account the patterns of its historical development. In the meantime, the opposite situation is observed between the public and law enforcement agencies, when the available summary data is not published and is not submitted for independent analysis. Thus, they are not actually used to make any managerial decisions on the organization of the fight against crime, or the effectiveness of the latter is poorly justified. After all, there are often not enough staff resources of analytical departments to study the material. In this regard, the legal statistics departments of the Prosecutor's Office have stopped making any analytical information freely available, and the consolidated reports of the Ministry of Internal Affairs contain only selected information if the original primary data is fully available.

3. The influence of economic and technological factors.

The influence of economic and technological factors is manifested in the expansion of objects and objects of criminal encroachments, which is directly related to the development of economic relations and technology. The transition to cashless payments, the spread of electronic commerce and digital assets have created new opportunities for criminals, which has led to a shift in emphasis in the crime structure. The historical variability of computer crime is manifested in its gradual replacement of traditional forms of crime, such as street theft and fraud. Criminals are increasingly using digital technology, which makes their actions more hidden and difficult to investigate. Due to the disadvantages associated with the inability to actually investigate complex, highly professional computer crimes, participation in the UN Convention against Cybercrime of 2024 is considered questionable. If we unify legislation in accordance with this directive, it is unlikely that we will be able to implement it to the proper extent. It is clear that changing the structure of computer crime requires constant updating of criminal legislation and law enforcement methods. The introduction of new articles, such as Art. 272.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, reflects the attempts of the legislator to adapt to new challenges, but the effectiveness of these measures remains limited. It should be borne in mind that certain norms of the criminal law have an important anti-criminal potential. Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can even be called the norm of double prevention, since the practice of its application indicates that employees, identifying sites and channels in messengers or groups on social networks, stop their activities, thereby reducing the possibility of drug use by end users. And with its successful application, the phenomenon of drug addiction itself can even be somewhat reduced.

4. Analysis of the variance of the material damage caused.

Such an analysis helped to establish some victimological features of the crimes committed. The activities of professional criminals are focused on large sums and legal entities as victims, while ordinary fraud is focused more on an accidental victim, the characteristics of whose solvency are unknown to the criminal in advance.

An analysis of the territorial distribution of computer crime shows that its structure and the objects of criminal attacks depend on the level of digitalization and economic development of the regions. In remote regions where remote services and electronic payments are actively used, crime is more often associated with fraud and non-delivery of goods.