. . .
Detectives only learned of the “cheating husband” scheme from faithful spouses who were not victims. The crime did not fit into any existing category, and since the police had made no arrests, they had no statistics to feed to a national crime database in Washington that can prepare other jurisdictions for the scheme.
“Suspects take advantage, knowing that ‘Hey, I’m basically committing crimes blindly,’ without the fear of prosecution,” said Capt. Jason M. Reinbold, commander of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s criminal investigations division. “And I can’t analyze something if I don’t have data.”
Many of the offenses are not even counted when major crimes around the nation are tallied. Among them: identity theft; sexual exploitation; ransomware attacks; fentanyl purchases over the dark web; human trafficking for sex or labor; revenge porn; credit card fraud; child exploitation; and gift or credit card schemes that gangs use to raise cash for their traditional operations or vendettas.
In a sense, technology has created an extraordinary moment for industrious criminals, increasing profits without the risk of street violence. Digital villainy can be launched from faraway states, or countries, eliminating physical threats the police traditionally confront. Cyberperpetrators remain unknown. Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, ask themselves: Who owns their crimes? Who must investigate them? What are the specific violations? Who are the victims? How can we prevent it?
