Internet Crimes Allegations

Internet crimes can include offenses allegedly committed through computers, phones, social media, email, websites, or other electronic communications. Depending on the circumstances, allegations may involve fraud, identity theft, online solicitation, unlawful access to information, or offenses involving prohibited digital material.

Yes. Many internet-related offenses can result in felony charges. The classification and potential punishment depend on the specific offense, alleged conduct, evidence, and circumstances of the case.

Law enforcement generally must have lawful authority to search the contents of a phone, computer, or other digital device. Search warrants, consent, the scope of the search, and how digital evidence was obtained can become important issues in an internet crime case.

Evidence may include text messages, emails, social-media communications, account records, IP-address information, search histories, photographs, videos, cloud data, financial records, and information recovered from computers or mobile devices.

Potentially. Investigators may attempt to recover deleted information from devices, accounts, cloud services, or other sources. Whether recovered information is admissible and whether it can reliably be connected to a particular person are separate questions.

Access by other people can be significant. The prosecution must establish the required connection between the accused and the alleged criminal conduct. Shared devices, compromised accounts, passwords, network access, and other users may become important evidence.

You have the right to remain silent and the right to consult an attorney. Because statements and digital evidence can become important parts of an investigation, consider speaking with a criminal defense attorney before answering questions about the allegations.