Cybercrime is gaining more popularity as of late. Mainstream media talks about this industry as something everyone can join to make a lot of money pretty quickly.It turns out, however, that being a cyber criminal is not all that glorious, as most people who are involved in the industry make far less money than assumed. Recorded Future’s report shows how the average criminal earns US$1,000 to US$3,000 every month.
Cybercrime Pays, But Not That Great
As is the case with any industry, there are those who are more successful than others. The average cyber criminal will earn less than US$3,000 per month, which is still a decent amount of money. However, they put in a lot more hours of works compared to someone working their 9-to-5 job. Plus, cybercrime is a job that takes out seven days of the week.
That being said, one in five cyber criminals manages to hone their skills in such a manner that they can beef up their monthly income. In fact, they earn somewhere around US$20,000 per month, which is a spectacular amount. Do keep in mind that it takes a lot of skill to achieve this level, as it is not easy to maintain a life of crime in the Internet world for an extended period.
This survey, conducted by Recorded Future, was carried out by interviewing an undisclosed underground community, which seems to indicate that these results may need to be taken with a grain of salt–particularly when knowing how some people suggested they earn up to US$200,00 a month. Although this amount is not unrealistic, it is a lot harder to achieve than most people would think.
What was rather telling is how many alleged cybercriminals took part in this survey. Although one would assume that these people should take all precautions to ensure they are not drawing attention to themselves, a lot of online crooks do it for the ego and status. They will also gladly boast about their earnings, which somewhat skews the numbers a bit.
One thing Recorded Future wants to point out is how cybercrime is quickly becoming a family business. That is a factor very few people take into consideration when thinking of cybercrime; most people see this as a trend that has emerged in the past few years. Nothing could be further from the truth, though, as cybercrime has been around as long as the Internet.
It is evident that the cybercrime world is undergoing some drastic evolution, which is of particular concern to law enforcement agencies and consumers all over the world. Online crime is a business model just like any other, and people will actively engage in these types of activities. Most crooks are professionals, and they go about their criminal activity as they would any other type of business.
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