Question

Based on what you may have read in the local paper or seen on the media it appears that Business Related Crimes are on the rise recently. Why do you think this is the case? Do you think that more crime is taking place due to technology or simply because more criminals are being caught and apprehended? Provide examples of crimes in your response. Prior to making a posts please review your peers’ comments to avoid duplicates.

Answer 1

Business Related Crime or White Collar Crime is defined as any type of illegal conduct is committed in a business setting. The term white collar implies that most of these kinds of fellonies are committed by non-physical means as opposed through the use of force. Thus, white collar crimes typically involve such illegal methods as deceit, trickery, fraud, or guile to obtain money gains or property interests.

White collar crime is steadily increasing, thanks to ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY in our society, which relies on the increased use of cellular phones and computers to access personal and financial information. The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), a nonprofit agency that supports state and local police in their efforts to stop, investigate and prosecute economic and high-tech crime, reports that while arrests for violent crimes have reduced in recent years, arrests for white collar crimes - especially fraud and embezzlement - have increased.

The increase in white collar crime incidents has also contributed to a rise in expense to the nation. According to National Fraud Center statistics, the cost of economic crime has risen from $5 billion in 1970 to $100 billion in 1990, and is only expected to increase as occurrences become more frequent. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation''s Economic Crime Unit reports that telemarketing fraud, the fastest growing kinds of white collar crime, has become a rising problem in recent years, victimizing millions of people at a cost of $40 billion yearly.

Statistics from NW3C also approximate that one in three households is the victim of white collar crime, yet of these, only 41 percent report the incident. Of the small number reported, only 21 percent are handled by a law enforcement or consumer protection agency.

Experts state that many people fail to report white collar crime because they are unaware that they have been trapped. Many who are aware of a suspicious incident are unsure of whether or not it is an actual crime, and of those who are knowledgeable, many are either unsure who to contact or believe no resolution will come from reporting the crime. NW3C encourages awareness on the part of both the public and law enforcement agencies as a preventive measure against the future of white collar crime.

Examples of white collar crimes include ->

• Bank Fraud:

To engage in an act or pattern of activity where the purpose is to defraud a bank of funds.

• Blackmail:

A demand for money or other consideration under threat to do bodily harm, to injure property, to accuse of a crime, or to expose secrets.

• Bribery:

When money, goods, services, information or anything else of value is offered with intent to influence the actions, opinions, or decisions of the taker. You may be charged with bribery whether you offer the bribe or accept it.

• Cellular Phone Fraud:

The unauthorized use, tampering, or manipulation of a cellular phone or service. This can be accomplished by either use of a stolen phone,or where an actor signs up for service under false identification or where the actor clones a valid electronic serial number (ESN) by using an ESN reader and reprograms another cellular phone with a valid ESN number.

• Computer fraud:

Where computer hackers steal information sources contained on computers such as: bank information, credit cards, and proprietary information.

Other Examples include: credit card fraud, counterfeiting, embezzlement, identity fraud, insider trading, insurance fraud, kickbacks, money laundering, obstruction of justice, perjury and price fixing.

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