"Tracing The Evolution of Cyber Crimes: From Early Incidents to AI-Powered Threats and Their Impact"

Abstract: From the initial rise of technology, mobile devices and the widespread use of the internet, which has also given a head start to the spreading of fraudulent cyber-crimes and online scams. With individuals being dependent on mobile devices from simple communication to totally being dependent for various primary purposes such as online shopping, online gaming, online payment and providing personal information on social media platforms more than ever before have given way for criminals to take advantage of this opportunity for their illegal and deceitful activities (“The_Global_Rise_of_Online_Devi,” n.d.). This paper stresses on the rise and evolution of cybercrimes and how it has affected many people with their day to day livelihood. The concept of “going virtual for everything” has been one of the main reasons for the ever increasing cybercrimes and the growth of artificial intelligence has rapidly changed the entire view of cybercrimes. These fraudulent activities aim to deceive and defraud individuals and organizations, resulting in financial loss and identity theft. The impact of online frauds and scams goes beyond financial losses, they can also cause emotional distress and erode trust in online platforms and transactions.

The evolution of cybercrimes from the first ever reported cybercrime to the recent crime will be discussed along with the advancements of different cybercrimes including the detection method. It also stresses upon the different methods sorted during the first ever cybercrime that had taken place and the differences of the newly found methods for modern cybercrimes.

Cybercrime, cyberspace, evolution, internet, virus attack, scam, cyberterrorism, machine learning

1. Kshetri, N. (2022). The global rise of online devices, cybercrime and cyber defense: Enhancing ethical actions, counter measures, cyber strategy, and approaches (Publication No. 29165177) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri–St. Louis]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://www.proquest.com/openview/f5504834b2980c4808671dfad212f354/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Ottis, R., & Lorents, P. (2010). Cyberspace: Definition and implications. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Information Warfare and Security (pp. 267–270). Academic Publishing Limited. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=739456875908443413 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Azam, H., Dulloo, M. I., Majeed, M. H., Phang Hui Wan, J., Tong Xin, L., & Sindiramutty, S. R. (n.d.). Cybercrime unmasked: Investigating cases and digital evidence. Semantic Scholar. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9d91/d55029a4ebbe92e52602b0f4185eb0e4a27d.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Chimchiuri, L. (2024). The evolution of cybercrime legislation. Scientific Works of National Aviation University: Series Law Journal “Air and Space Law,” 2(71), 221–227. https://doi.org/10.18372/2307-9061.71.18813 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. AllahRakha, N. (2024). Transformation of crimes (cybercrimes) in digital age. International Journal of Law and Policy, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.59022/ijlp.156 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Miquelon-Weismann, M. F. (2005). The Convention on Cybercrime: A harmonized implementation of international penal law: What prospects for procedural due process? John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law, 23(4), 329. https://repository.law.uic.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=jitpl [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Monteith, S., Bauer, M., Alda, M., Geddes, J., Whybrow, P. C., & Glenn, T. (2021). Increasing cybercrime since the pandemic: Concerns for psychiatry. Current Psychiatry Reports, 23(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-021-01228-w [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Ige, O. (2023). Trends of cybercrime from 2001 to 2021: Cybersecurity action plan for Papua New Guinea. Discover Global Society, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-023-00007-7 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Hunton, P. (2011). The stages of cybercrime investigations: Bridging the gap between technology examination and law enforcement investigation. Computer Law & Security Review, 27(1), 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2010.11.001 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Malik, J. K., & Choudhury, S. (n.d.). A brief review on cyber crime – Growth and evolution. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jitender-Malik-2/publication/340756419 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Brown, C. S. D. (2015). Investigating and prosecuting cyber crime: Forensic dependencies and barriers to justice. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 9(1), 55–119. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22387 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Tkalichenko, S., Khotskina, V., & Solovieva, V. (2021). Cybercrime: The comparative analysis of the modern information space. Computer Systems and Information Technologies, 1, 56–62. https://doi.org/10.31891/csit-2021-3-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Li, J. X. (2017). Cyber crime and legal countermeasures: A historical analysis. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 12(2), 196. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1034658 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Renu. (2019). Impact of cyber crime: Issues and challenges. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, 3(3), 1569–1572. https://doi.org/10.31142/ijtsrd23456 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Saini, H., Rao, Y. S., & Panda, T. C. (2012). Cyber-crimes and their impacts: A review. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 2(2), 202–209. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=6b41f80de9a314af67b909b509d7119d0d29c787 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Chevers, D. A. (2019). The impact of cybercrime on e-banking: A proposed model. CONF-IRM 2019 Proceedings, Article 11. https://aisel.aisnet.org/confirm2019/11 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Manky, D. (2013). Cybercrime as a service: A very modern business. Computer Fraud & Security, 2013(6), 9–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1361-3723(13)70053-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Lee, J. H., & Kim, S. J. (2017). Analysis and security evaluation of security threat on broadcasting service. Wireless Personal Communications, 95(4), 4149–4169. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11277-017-4056-z [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Tsochev, G., Trifonov, R., Nakov, O., Manolov, S., & Pavlova, G. (2020). Cyber security: Threats and challenges. In 2020 International Conference Automatics and Informatics (ICAI) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAI50593.2020.9311369 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Cybercrime Magazine - page one for the cybersecurity industry. (2025, January 29). Cybercrime Magazine. https://cybersecurityventures.co/m [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Fluchs, S., Taştan, E., Trumpf, T., Horch, A., Drath, R., & Fay, A. (2023). Traceable security-by-design decisions for cyber-physical systems (CPSs) by means of function-based diagrams and security libraries. Sensors, 23(12), 5547. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23125547 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Digital forensics and cyber crime. (2024). In Lecture notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56583-0 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Holt, T., & Bossler, A. (2015). Cybercrime in progress. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315775944 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Cybercrime and cybersecurity in the global South. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=SepWfACNTgQC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Kshetri,+N.+(2018).+Cybercrime+and+cybersecurity+in+the+global+south.+Springer.&ots=BFHEp2vFZO&sig=pDiWYfG2EM-l002jEsVpDxBSPr4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Wall, D. S. (2017). Crime, security and information communication technologies: The changing cybersecurity threat landscape and its implications for regulation and policing. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3005872 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Al-Khater, W. A., Al-Maadeed, S., Ahmed, A. A., Sadiq, A. S., & Khan, M. K. (2020). Comprehensive review of cybercrime detection techniques. IEEE Access, 8, 137293–137311. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3011259 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Chinedu, P. U., Nwankwo, W., Masajuwa, F. U., & Imoisi, S. (2021). Cybercrime detection and prevention efforts in the last decade: An overview of the possibilities of machine learning models. Review of International Geographical Education Online, 11(7). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paschal-Chinedu/publication/355668267 Cybercrime Detection_and_Prevention_Efforts_in_the_Last_Decade_An_Overview_of_the_Possibilities_of_Machine_Learning_Models/links/61792620a767a03c14bbc798/Cybercrime-Detection-and-Prevention-Efforts-in-the-Last-Decade-An-Overview-of-the-Possibilities-of-Machine-Learning-Models.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Raiyn, J. (2014). A survey of cyber attack detection strategies. International Journal of Security and Its Applications, 8(1), 247–256. https://doi.org/10.14257/ijsia.2014.8.1.23 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Meera, V., Isaac, M. M., & Balan, C. (2013). Forensic acquisition and analysis of VMware virtual machine artifacts. In Proceedings of the International Multi-Conference on Automation, Computing, Communication, Control and Compressed Sensing (iMac4s) (pp. 255–259). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/iMac4s.2013.6526418 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Agarwal, A., Gupta, S., Gupta, S., & Gupta, M. (2011). Systematic digital forensic investigation model. International Journal of Computer Science and Security, 5(1), 118–130. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yatendra-Gupta/publication/228410430_Systematic_Digital_Forensic_Investigation_Model/links/56ea8cd208ae95bddc2bcc6b/Systematic-Digital-Forensic-Investigation-Model.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Dimitriadis, A., Ivezic, N., Kulvatunyou, B., & Mavridis, I. (2019). D4I - Digital forensics framework for reviewing and investigating cyber attacks. Array, 5, 100015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.array.2019.100015 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Rogers, M. K., Goldman, J., Mislan, R., Wedge, T., & Debrota, S. (2006). Computer forensics field triage process model. Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.15394/jdfsl.2006.1004 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Horan, C., & Saiedian, H. (2021). Cyber crime investigation: Landscape, challenges, and future research directions. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 1(4), 580–596. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp1040029 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Završnik, A. (2020). Criminal justice, artificial intelligence systems, and human rights. ERA Forum, 20, 567–583. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-020-00602-0 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Feily, M., Shahrestani, A., & Ramadass, S. (2009, June). A survey of botnet and botnet detection. In 2009 third international conference on emerging security information, systems and technologies (pp. 268-273). IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/SECURWARE.2009.48 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Mulahuwaish, A., Qolomany, B., Gyorick, K., Abdo, J. B., Aledhari, M., Qadir, J., Carley, K., & Al-Fuqaha, A. (2025). A survey of social cybersecurity: Techniques for attack detection, evaluations, challenges, and future prospects. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 100668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100668 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Advanced Techniques for Fake News Detection on Twitter Using NLP and AI: A Comprehensive Review
• Review of Self Compacting Geopolymer Concrete Using Slag Sand as Fine Aggregate
• Performance of Local Construction Contractors – Case Study of Registered Contractors in Monrovia, Liberia
• Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Innovation Management in Multinational Organizations
• Modeling of Reaction Between Dissolved Oxygen (DO) And Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) in Degradation River