Written by David Lolis

1. Unearned Fame and Stolen Fortune in 21st-Century Cyberspace
“In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes,” pop icon Andy Warhol archly
predicted.
Warhol himself didn’t live long enough to witness many of the technological innovations
that would make that true. He may have seen the original Macintosh, but he missed the
Internet, the decade of the 90s, Y2K, MySpace, iPhones, and YouTube’s dramatic
launch in 2005, which featured a short clip of a man at a zoo.
And he missed out on seeing his prediction turn out to be an incredible understatement.
In the digital age, an Instagram influencer or a mouse who tidies up a workroom can live
on forever in cyberspace. Fame has no end, no rhyme or reason, no gatekeeper.
This new reality opens up unlimited possibilities, but also comes with a darker set of
temptations, choices and outcomes. There are whole new categories of crimes, and
new ways to defame and intimidate. Hackers and cyberbullies lurk in the shadows,
keyboard warriors nursing grudges and obsessing over ideologies.
Even as many of the sources of information the Internet offers up, whether TikTok or
Reddit, often lack credibility, these same sources are trusted by millions. Because there
is no managing editor on the Internet, anyone can post anything.
When it comes to personal reputation, this presents a tremendous challenge. People of
goodwill spend a lifetime creating reputations based on conscientious choices made
with integrity. And yet, a single craven post can sweep it all away.
There are also vast new opportunities for misrepresentation and fraud. It wasn’t long
ago that most Internet fraud was self-evident, and often entertaining. Who among us
has never received a direct request from a wealthy Nigerian prince, a hapless potentate
who is curiously unable to open a checking account in his own name?
For years, the man has had millions of dollars burning a hole in his pocket, with no
place to put it. By now, the obstacles facing this phishing, fictional royal are well-known:
unrest in the Congo, a consignment shipment languishing on the dock, a shift in the
local economy from the gold standard to gift cards, or outrageous ATM fees.
Today online crimes are infinitely more sophisticated, and much more serious.
Scammers hold reputations for hostage, offer to withdraw their libels for a fee, plant

2. malware on home computers, corrupt hospital medical records, infiltrate power grids,
spread disinformation, generate fake photos, empty bank accounts, upend markets by
impersonating government regulators, steal identities, evict homeowners, sow division
and traffic in fear.
It doesn’t take an organized ring to do incredible damage. A lone individual logging on
to Yelp, Glassdoor, Healthgrades, Facebook or RealSelf can have an immense impact
on a person’s life or a company’s future. In the end, a potential victim's sole defenses
are vigilance, knowledge and awareness.
As a society and a civilization, we’ve ventured far from Thomas Jefferson’s ideal: “Truth
is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist
to error.” Now the more relevant quote is an observation from a New York City
prosecutor, who not long ago remarked: “The Internet is the crime scene of the 21st
Century.”