Otro extraño en la sombra: Un acercamiento a las características del cibercriminal

Despite the rise of cybercrime, many aspects remain unknown about the social experience and manifestations of this form of insecurity, especially the characteristics of the perpetrator. Using an online questionnaire filled out by 315 Salvadoran adults, cases of victimization and a perception of increased cybercrime were found. In addition, a semantic differential showed that the representation of the cybercriminal tends to adopt characteristics such as being a sophisticated person, with high schooling, upper class, or, relevantly, not belonging to gangs. Thus, while it is argued that cybercriminogenic conditions exist in the country –largely instigated by the government in power– this research offers cues that the representation of the cybercriminal takes distance from the gang member´s, the national emblematic criminal figure of the past 35 years. The cybercriminal has now found his own place as a new shadowy stranger in the Salvadoran imaginary.