Inside the Career of a Cybercrime Investigator
We live in a time where every action involves the use of technology, or use of the internet. As we know, these technologies are continuously advancing, and Cybercrime activities have also increased significantly posing threats for everyone in our society such as individuals, organizations, communities, and governments. Those who study these cyber threats are called Cybercrime Investigators, these experts are certified in discovering online crimes or cyber-acts that occur, in fact, there are unknown sources that watch daily activities online. This procedure prevents hackers from taking over technological functions. The duties of this job may seem strictly technological; however, the truth is that recognizing social change, engaging in human behavior, and having the determination is valuable when it comes to as understanding how computers work. Concepts of social sciences such as sociology, criminology, and psychology play major roles in how they approach cybercrime instances, how they classify criminal behaviors, and how they interact with the individuals involved. I will examine the roles of cybercrime investigators’ decisions and outcomes within society as well as how they relate to the social sciences.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, as of 2022, an average of 652,000 cybercrime complaints have been reported each year over the last five years, showing how widespread online victimization has become. (Federal Bureau of Investigation 5). Cybercrime investigators’ job responsibilities require them to manage, evaluate, and prevent crime occurrences online, this could cause incidents of identity theft, fraud. While this role involves digital tools and data analysis, it also deeply relies on social science principles. Certain terms such as cyber victimization, individual motives, and other rational discussions such as relativism or determinism aid investigators in naming people behaviors and key details surrounding the crime. By incorporating these concepts, Investigators can follow cases closely.
One key part for cybercrime investigators is cyber victimization. Just like regular crimes, any individual can be a victim of harassment or online swindlers. Victims of online crimes tend to suffer from stress after these attacks, and even assume there is no resolution, so they do not report it. With more research, I found that individuals who are women, members of the LGBTQ community and those who live in low-income environments, are often unfairly targeted in online crimes. Other kinds of cybercrime victimization such as cyber-stalking, cyber-harassment, hacking, or malware infection, empirical studies have also found online exposure to risks cybercrime victimization. (Abdullah 90) These communities may not feel comfortable reporting cybercrimes because they do not trust the law or afraid they will not be supported or taken seriously.
It is also important to understand the Individual motives behind both criminal and victim behavior. Other participants, a part of these kinds of criminal activities, lack money, require attention, or seek revenge. But just do it just they have the skill set. Knowing why people commit cybercrimes is equally as important as figuring out why they have committed the crime. Investigators tend to focus on these characteristics because it helps determine what kind of person they are investigating and how serious the threat might be.
Ideas about relativism and determinism also play huge roles in cybercrime investigations. When considering these principles, we must acknowledge all the factors of the case. If we consider Relativism, this shows us that ideas about crime are not the same amongst diverse cultures. For example, protesting in our country may be seen differently in another community and even have different consequences. When it comes to Determinism, they argue that outside influences can contribute to cybercrime such as lack of resources, or poverty. This point of view allows investigators to look at the broader issue rather than labeling offenders and victimizing them. In fact, the more international cybercrimes become, investigators must approach cases with cultural awareness and ethical sensitivity (Tanczer et al. 6). According to these perspectives, investigators help avoid bias behavior while still managing to follow laws.
In conclusion, cybercrime investigators can benefit immensely by applying social science to their work. Concepts like cyber victimization, individual motives, and relativism-determinism allow them to recognize behaviors in various aspects and demographics. Cybercrime investigators must have traits of ethicalness when making decisions regarding cybercrime simply because doing the right thing is critical. Investigators should always approach a case with good moral intentions to help a victim and promote change.




Works Cited
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Internet Crime Report 2022. Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 2023, https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2022_ic3report.pdf. Accessed 15 April 2025
Abdullah, Abu Taher Muhammad. “Causes of Cybercrime Victimization: A Systematic Literature Review.” International Journal of Research and Review, vol. 7, no. 5, May 2020, pp. 88–92. Accessed 17 April 2025
Tanczer, Leonie M., et al. “Gender and IoT: The Human Rights Dimensions of Digital Technology.” Internet Policy Review, vol. 7, no. 2, 2018. https://doi.org/10.14763/2018.2.793. Accessed 24 April 2025