Cybermurder

The transformation of communication globally through the medium of the Internet has also fostered a new form of homicidal interaction, referred to as cybermurder or Internet murder. Historically, murderers have used various approaches to identify strangers as potential victims, including the use of newspaper advertisements. Henri Landru, the French serial killer, placed ads in the lonely hearts columns of newspapers during World War I. Landru first seduced his victims, and having gained their trust, he embezzled their assets and finally murdered them. The term cybermurder is applied to murders that occur as a result of Internet advertisement or connection through chat rooms, dating sites, sex-for-sale sites, online role-playing games, Internet forums or groups, listservs, or bulletin boards. It also has been used to refer to ...