It is reprehensible to be cruel to others; that is, to increase the net amount of grief in their life in order to derive some satisfaction for yourself. it does not matter how you go about doing it or under what cover you can obfuscate it.
We are not talking reprehensible here, we are talking illegal.
The latter originates as a formalized description of the former. That despicable and selfish people frequently exploit the delay between the former and the latter does not excuse their behavior and certainly does not dismiss the misery, however small, their actions contribute to the world.