CYBERCRIMES FROM A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION

Abstract

Objective: To conduct an integrative review of the scientific literature published between 2019 and 2025 on cybercrimes, with an emphasis on the sociodemographic profile of victims and the characteristics of the offenses. Methodology: An integrative literature review was conducted according to the Prisma flowchart. The topic was initially defined, followed by searches in the Scopus, PubMed, Medline, Lilacs, SciELO, SciELO Brasil, Latindex, and PlumX Metrics databases. The Boolean operator "AND" and the keywords "cybercrimes," "cybercrime," "cybercrimes," and "internet crimes" were used, with no language restrictions. Inclusion criteria were articles published between 2019 and 2025, with free access, and that presented victims' sociodemographic data. Duplicate articles, literature reviews, dissertations, theses, books, documents, and studies without abstracts were excluded. Results: Of the 2,207 papers initially identified, 20 met the eligibility criteria and were read in full. Of these, six scientific articles comprised the final sample for analysis and discussion. The findings highlighted the growth and diversification of cybercrimes, with particular emphasis on electronic fraud through phishing, digital theft, and social media password theft. Cybercrimes affected different countries and victim profiles, such as women and the elderly. Conclusion: The integrative review proved effective in achieving the proposed objectives, allowing for a more in-depth discussion on cybercrimes in national and international contexts, enabling us to identify the most frequent digital crimes and the profiles of their victims. Furthermore, the results highlight the need for constant adaptation of the digital society to new types of crimes, enhanced by technology, which can affect individuals and organizations at any time.