Cyber technology has significantly changed the ways in which criminals and victims connect with one another, bringing with it both opportunities and issues related to crime and victimization. With the use of cyber technology, criminals may speak with victims remotely and surreptitiously, frequently without having to make physical contact. Without disclosing their genuine name or location, criminals can begin contact, groom victims, and commit crimes including harassment, stalking, and sexual exploitation through a variety of digital platforms like social media, messaging applications, and online forums. Cyberspaces like chat rooms, social networking sites, and online gaming platforms can be used by criminals to target weak people, especially kids and teenagers. Offenders can access victims, control their emotions, and build relationships based on deceit and compulsion by disguising themselves as peers or trustworthy people. This allows for a variety of victimization and exploitation scenarios.

Through cyber technology, perpetrators can more easily use digital platforms to threaten, intimidate, or dehumanize victims in online abuse, harassment, and cyberbullying. Cyberbullies may target particular individuals or groups with targeted attacks, sharing objectionable content, revealing personal information, and inciting fear and worry in their victims. The victims’ physical and emotional health are frequently severely harmed by these acts in an irreversible way. Cybercriminals use technology to perpetrate identity theft and financial fraud, compromising victims’ financial and personal information through phishing attacks, data breaches, and other online scams. Cybercriminals may use sensitive passwords, bank account information, or credit card information to carry out fraudulent transactions, empty victims’ accounts, or take on their identities for nefarious intents, resulting in loss of money and harm to their reputation.

Cyber technology makes it easier to exploit and trade people online, especially when it comes to human trafficking and the exploitation of minors for sexual purposes. The internet can be used by criminals to find, groom, and take advantage of victims by tricking them into giving in to pressure, manipulation, or false promises. Cyberspace and underground discussion boards act as markets for victims of human trafficking, where traffickers purchase, sell, and take advantage of people for financial benefit. In general, cyber technology has changed the way that criminals and victims communicate with one another, opening up new channels for victimization as well as chances for justice, prevention, and intervention in the digital age. In order to secure the rights and well-being of every individual in cyberspace, comprehensive solutions using technology, education, legislation, and coordinated efforts across multiple sectors are necessary to address the difficulties posed by cybercrime and protect individuals from online threats.