When people imagine high-tech crime, they often picture hackers in dark rooms surrounded by computer screens. But the reality is that criminals are far more creative than that. While hacking is a common form of high-tech crime, many individuals with bad intentions have come up with all sorts of innovative schemes.
Almost every advancement in science and technology can be twisted for malicious purposes. With information more accessible than ever, these misuses are becoming increasingly common. Here are ten high-tech crimes that surprisingly did not involve hacking.
Creating a Hybrid Sheep
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth of Vaughn, Montana, was 81 years old when he was sentenced to six months in federal prison in 2024. His crime? Illegally importing a Marco Polo sheep—the largest breed of sheep in the world—to clone it and create an even larger hybrid breed to sell to game reserves.
Schubarth owned an “alternative livestock” business, and he wanted to create a unique new animal. Using tissue and testicles from the Marco Polo sheep, he created the Montana Mountain King. U.S. authorities didn’t appreciate him trying to “change the genetic makeup of the creatures” on the planet. Despite his lawyer’s argument that nobody else could clone a sheep like him, the judge gave him jail time to deter others.[1]
Crypto Mining on Public Money
In 2021, Christopher Naples, an IT supervisor with two decades of experience, dreamed of becoming a crypto millionaire. His plan was to mine crypto coins at the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office where he worked. Since crypto mining consumes vast amounts of energy, Naples decided to let the taxpayer foot the bill.
Over seven months, he hid 46 crypto-mining devices around his workplace, in six different rooms, under floorboards, in server racks, and even in wall panels. His devices raised the temperature in some rooms by up to 20 degrees, each costing about $4,200 per month in electricity. When his scheme was uncovered, Naples was charged with public corruption, third-degree grand larceny, computer trespass, and official misconduct.[2]
Causing a Global Financial Crash
Navinder Sarao, a London-based trader, made around $40 million in just five years, but he still lived in his parents’ house and bought no luxuries. To him, financial markets were like a video game. He used special software to place thousands of fake orders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, tricking other traders’ software into responding with their own orders.
His software placed real orders for quick profits. In 2010, Sarao’s spoofs caused $1 trillion to be wiped off the value of U.S. stocks in less than an hour, a panic known as the “Flash Crash.” He was arrested five years later and extradited to the U.S. He helped catch other market fraudsters during a short prison stint, which helped him avoid further jail time.[3]
Fake President Phone Calls
Steve Kramer, a political consultant, was ordered to pay six million dollars. He used AI to recreate U.S. President Joe Biden’s voice and then used it in phone calls to try and influence voters. Kramer was working for one of Biden’s 2024 challengers in an upcoming Democratic primary, using the fake calls to ask New Hampshire voters not to vote in it.
The Federal Communications Commission ordered the huge fine for breaking caller ID laws, but Kramer also faced 26 criminal charges. 13 were for impersonating a candidate, a misdemeanor, and 13 counts of voter suppression—a serious felony.[4]
3D-Printed Guns
Blake Ellison-Crate, already serving 12 years for firearms offenses, masterminded a scheme to make guns using 3D printing. He directed the Winnipeg-based operation from his cell using a smuggled cell phone.
Accomplices on the outside bought 3D printers and stored them around the city. When Ellison-Crate’s associates approached metal fabricators about producing the parts they couldn’t print, several fabricators warned the police.
Four addresses were raided, and numerous weapons were seized, though only one was 3D printed. Police suspect around 30 to 40 were already on the streets. Ellison-Crate’s calls, which often lasted hours, were all recorded, leading to an additional ten years in prison.[5]
Chemical Weapon Drones
Mohamad Al-Bared was found guilty of preparing for terrorism after British police officers raided his home in Coventry. Inside, they found a 3D printer and a sophisticated drone that Al-Bared, a mechanical engineering graduate studying for a PhD, had built himself.
Some of the drone’s parts were printed. The drone had landing gears and a camera, and it was said to be able to carry explosives or chemicals. Al-Bared claimed he built the drone for research, but officers also found an application form for the Islamic State terror group and encrypted chats showing his support for them. He had also set up a fake company to travel to Africa with his drone.[6]
Virtual Terrorism
Nikita Uvarov, just 16 years old, was sentenced to five years in prison in Russia for training for terrorist activities. Some of the alleged training involved the video game Minecraft.
Uvarov and two friends planned to build and blow up a virtual FSB building in the game. The FSB, Russia’s intelligence service, saw the mayhem the boys were planning on Minecraft as a genuine threat. They also claimed the boys distributed flyers in support of a Russian anarchist and tested explosives in abandoned buildings. Journalists noted a pattern of young people being jailed on terrorism charges with weak evidence.[7]
Building a Death Ray
Glendon Scott Crawford, a former General Electric mechanic and Ku Klux Klan member, was convicted in 2015 of “attempting to produce or use a radiological dispersal device.” He was planning to hide his device, which he described as “Hiroshima on a light switch,” in a truck outside targets like mosques and the White House.
If set off remotely, it would have sent deadly radiation into the surrounding area. Fortunately, his co-conspirators were undercover agents. His plans only got as far as building the remote control. Crawford was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with the sentencing judge describing him as “bizarre” after he lectured the courtroom about physics and the collapse of the Soviet Union.[8]
$10 Million Streaming Scam
Michael Smith, a U.S. musician, is accused of using AI to create thousands of songs, which he then repeatedly streamed on services such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and YouTube Music using bots. He allegedly made more than $10 million in royalty payments.
His bots would sometimes stream his songs more than 660,000 times per day. Smith has been charged with three counts related to wire fraud and money laundering. Similar tactics have been used by gangs in Sweden to launder money since at least 2019. Spotify believes that fake streams account for less than 1% of all streams.[9]
VR Murder
Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus, designed a VR headset that contains explosive charges that kill the user if they die inside the simulated reality.
The device was inspired by the anime series Sword Art Online, which features a headset with a similar function. As of 2022, Luckey said he had never used the device because it could kill users at the wrong time. He said it exists only to make people think about “unexplored avenues in game design.” But how long might they remain unexplored?[10]
From hybrid sheep cloning to virtual reality murder, these high-tech crimes demonstrate the surprising and sometimes terrifying ways technology can be misused. It’s a stark reminder that innovation can be a double-edged sword.
What do you think about these high-tech crimes? Leave your comment below.
