What interests me is the intelligence and innovation of this. You would think these bad actors would fair well doing societal good using their skills and not resort to crime.
That's always been the case. Dumb crooks don't last long.
As to why they choose this way, over a "legitimate" (like dark pattern writing, or PID mining) vocation, there are many reasons.
I suspect that a big one, is the "blackball" effect, that having a conviction on your record will create. Once we are convicted, then we become unhireable, in many industries, so it's not like we have a choice. Also, the pay for nefarious work can be quite good.
Can confirm. Have read many articles about known gang members and drug lords. It usually starts with doing some dumb things at younger age and then struggle to find and keep a legal job.
Think about the "innovation" here. Learning to set up your own cell tower is quite a feat, but how are you going to monetize it? Are you going to start your own cell provider and try to compete with the existing major players? Or are you going to use the tech for some fast capital right now?
If the goal was to learn just enough about cell tech to exploit it for profit, then a legal approach is off-the-table because of the extraordinary effort needed to ever get anything off the ground.
As to why they choose this way, over a "legitimate" (like dark pattern writing, or PID mining) vocation, there are many reasons.
I suspect that a big one, is the "blackball" effect, that having a conviction on your record will create. Once we are convicted, then we become unhireable, in many industries, so it's not like we have a choice. Also, the pay for nefarious work can be quite good.