The paper examines nine varieties of telecommunications- related crime: (1) theft of services: (2) communications in furtherance of criminal conspiracies; (3) telecommunications piracy; (4) dissemination of offensive materials; (5) electronic money laundering; (6) electronic vandalism; (7) telemarketing fraud; (8) illegal interception; and (9) electronic funds transfer fraud. It examines each type of criminality in terms of the organizational and regulatory shortcomings that facilitate its commission; problems of detection, investigation and prosecution; legal responses, and preventive countermeasures designed to reduce the illegality in question without inflicting collateral harm. Instead of state interventions and strict regulation that may stifle commercial and technological development, the market place may be able to provide more efficient solutions to the problems of telecommunications crime. References, notes