To +Brian Zeiger: a warrant was served on my house for my computer. On the warrant it read that I was using stolen credit card information to purchase items online. The crime alleged is theft; the police officer called a computer theft crime or cyber crime. How can the police know it was me?
Very good question. The police do not know it was you and they most likely cannot know for sure it was you. However, in criminal prosecutions the burden of proof is on the government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the crime. They government can do this through direct or circumstantial evidence. Direct evidence is when the see you do it, they find the proceeds of the crime on your person, or there is eyewitness testimony. Circumstantial evidence is like going to bed and the pavement is dry, then waking up to find it wet. You can say circumstantially it rained--that is, under the circumstances of your observation, you can say with some measure of certainty that it indeed rained.
In your case, the police can look to the IP address of the computer from where the transaction was made and then get a warrant for that computer. They can search the house to see if anyone else lives in the house. They can search the other rooms and mail, etc. The police can look to see who signed for the packages and the email address for the orders that were made online. They can use video or photos from the delivery truck. They can show a photo spread to the delivery person. The police can also look to see how the credit card information was stolen and try to link it back to you.
Also, often times in these cases people are not acting alone. If you are charged with conspiracy, then anything they can put on other people they can put on you. Also, if any of your co-defendants snitched on you, they can use the co-defendants' statement against you.
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| computer theft crime | cyber crime |
Labels: circumstantial evidence, computer crime, computer theft crime, conspiracy, cyber crime, theft
