Looking at Cyberspace As a Den of Online Thieves

If Americans are less concerned these days about crime on the streets, perhaps it’s because they feel the nation’s crooks are fully occupied in plotting online crimes. A survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found 73 percent of adults “concerned” (including 43 percent who are “very concerned”) about criminals “using the Internet to plan and carry out crimes.” The number who are “very concerned” is lower among people who use the Internet than among the unwired (34 percent versus 52 percent), and similarly lower among Internet “veterans” than “newcomers.”