Online Crime in the Metaverse: A Study on Classification, Prediction, and Mitigation Strategies

With the burgeoning growth of the metaverse and online virtual environments, new security challenges have been introduced that require careful exploration and mitigation. An increasing proportion of human interactions and transactions now take place in these digital spaces, making it essential to protect users and ensure the safety and integrity of virtual worlds. This chapter explores three dimensions of this issue. First, through a study of the types of crimes that occur in these environments, to gain a holistic understanding of the cybercrime technoscape. Second, the authors use a two-pronged approach to increase the safety of the metaverse by targeting both potential perpetrators and victims. This is achievable by identifying indicators that may be used to detect potential perpetrators or victims. Thirdly and finally, strategies and techniques to make these online communities safer are suggested.