This research generated a theoretical model based on a combination of deterrence and reasoned action theories to explore the prosecution risk and the perceived proximity on e-book piracy. Four hypotheses were developed through the literature to analyse the undergraduate intention to plunder e-books. The self-reporting method via snowball sampling was employed to collect the data from 88 undergraduates who had previously committed e-book piracy. The results indicated that perceived proximity and prosecution risk have a significant relationship to piracy intention (F = 113.805, p < 0.001). Seventy-two per cent of the piracy intention variance was accounted for by the predictors, as reported by the adjusted R[superscript 2] (0.722). Although the severity of the punishment has been identified as an important factor in lowering piracy intentions, it has not been particularly seen among the female participants, i.e., the more female undergraduates knew about the severity of the punishment, the more they wanted to engage in piracy.