Introduction
“Whoever commits a fraud is guilty not only of the particular injury to him who he deceives, but of the diminution of that confidence which constitutes not only the ease but the existence of society” -Samuel Johnson
In our ever changing world, technological advances over the past twenty years have paved the way for and deepened our reliance on the digital and computerized lifestyle; electronic mailing, online social networking, computer gaming, e-book reading, mobile phoning, etc... Technology has modified almost every aspect of the human interaction, even our money has changed to bits and bytes that can be transferred around the world or to another bank account with a few taps on a key board and clicks of a mouse; you don’t even have to get your wallet out. With such advances in the way the business is conducted, so too have the methods of which criminals and fraudsters alike who have adapted their methods to scam, con and swindle the unsuspecting and vulnerable.
Digital fraud can be considered as any type of deceitful and often illegal action that is performed by way of the internet, software and hardware that uses someone or the personal information they have for financial or material gain. In today’s society, digital crime is a very real threat and has incredible consequences for government, businesses and the general public at large. Hacking, skimming, and phishing have become terms that are all too familiar to anyone with a computer, debit or credit card, and even an email account. But, what do these terms all have in common? And, who is on the other side of your computer screen, ATM line, or sending those annoying spam messages?
The technology intensive society that we live in demands that we keep ou...
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...activities and attacks are initiated in foreign countries, but the anonymity of the internet allows fraud to be masked and less traceable. Fortunately, there are security measures that can be taken by the public and organizations to prevent, protect and pursue fraud.
Works Cited
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2. Alta. health files hacked, maybe stolen. Anonymous. Dawson Creek Daily News. July 9 2009. pp A.3
3. Marck, Paul. A crime that does pay. National Post. Mar 12, 2009. pp FP.12
4. Schmidt, Sarah. Identity theft victims total 1.7 million:survey. Star - Phoenix. Nov 18, 2008. pp. C.4
5. Thompson, Tim. Adding up the real cost of fraud. Computer Fraud & Security. April 2009. pp12.
6. Wagner, Cynthia. Internet fraud on the rise. The Futurist. July/August 2009. Pp 15.
The Impact of Online Identity Theft on Consumers and Organizations Internet fraud has become a major issue due to the ever increasing population of internet users, because the internet is such an easy solution to fast sufficient services readily available for busy lives that’s is why most of us are now dependant on the internet in some shape or form and each time we use the internet we input data that are related to use from our name, address and even bank details with the assurance that the site is safe and trustworthy, but this is not always the case because the security system implemented like all things in this world has weaknesses.
In todays fast pace world of technology many of us leave ourselves vulnerable to become victims of a cybercrime. With people using the internet to do everything from paying bills, personal banking, and on-line shopping their financial and personal information is available at the stroke of a key to a hacker. Often someone is unaware that they have been attacked and had their information stolen. The use of the internet has grown exorbitantly throughout the world. Nelson Online reported that as of December 31, 2014, there were 360,985,492 users of the internet throughout the world. (2015) With so many users in so many countries accessing the internet, prosecuting cybercrimes is nearly impossible.
“As in the past, it is criminals who have been among the first to recognize the potential of a wide-open, sparsely populated, and poorly policed space (Fuller 11).” That is exactly what cyberspace was in the beginning, and most of it is new territory still. One way to become aware of the cyber-crimes one can fall victim to is to first know what types are out there. The top five cyber-crimes are the following: tax-refund fraud, corporate account takeover, identity theft, theft of sensitive data, and theft of intellectual property (Singleton 2). Also, all cyber-crimes have three things in common; the tools needed to commit the crime, a strategy on how to follow through with the crime, and the outcome which is the crime itself (Singleton 2). There are also different forms...
The advancement of technology over the years appeared to be the greatest thing known to mankind. With the Internet, the world is at one's finger tips and just about anything can be accessed using it. This is not necessarily a good thing, with crimes like creidt card fraud going around. The number of credit card fraud incidents is rapidly increasing as the years progress. Anybody with a credit card could possibly be a victim of this crime and it should be taking seriously. One’s life could be ruined if their information gets into the wrong hands.
Fraud is a major problem that has affected and hurt the American banking system for decades; however thanks to new technology and fraud prevention programs, fraud has been harder to get away with it. Thanks to Frank Abagnale Jr.’s first hand experience with fraud has helped him with his 40 plus years with the FBI, but the books he wrote, and the fraud protection agency he set up, has greatly helped shape the way check fraud prevention and catching the people who do it happen today. Fraud is defined as “the intentional deception of a person, business, or government agency for the purpose of stealing property, money, or causing financial injury in other ways,” (White-Collar Crime). It is because of Abagnale that so many people are protected
Identity theft may be a widespread drawback devastating close to eight million individuals every year. a standard situation involves a wrongdoer
To identify how we can prevent ourselves from these frauds and how we can control the occurrence of these frauds.
The ACFE’s “2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse” [1] found that financial statement fraud, which represent less than five percent of the cases of fraud in its report, was by the most costly, with a median loss of $1.7 million per incident. Some Surveys estimated that the standard organization loses 5% of its revenues by fraud each year. Gross World Product, estimated potential projected annual fraud loss of more than $3.5 trillion per year.
The Economic Impact of Cyber Crime and Cyber Espionage. (2013, January 1). . Retrieved , from http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-economic-impact-cybercrime.pdf
The concern for preventing fraud is increased because the negative impact of fraud have also increased over the years. Moreover, financial statements fraud are likely the most worrying because it causing decreasing company performance (Kassem & Higson, 2012; Aghghaleh, Mohamed, & Rahmat, 2016). Fraud is a topic that gets significant attention from regulators, auditors, and the public (Kassem & Higson, 2012). Soltani (2014) says that one type of fraud is financial statement
These types of crimes have become a matter of importance for the consumers as well the business firms because it involves large eviction of the amount in terms of money. In these types of crimes, computer and Internet are the primary factor (Spinello, 2000). A high percentage of population is using computers in the Australia, United States as well as other developed nations. These people are much more connected with the world by the use of internet. They are using the computer for fun, business, e-commerce, e-marketing, etc.; thus, it has become an essential part of life and daily routine (Wall, 2008).
Lenard, Thomas I. “Identity Theft Is a Declining Problem.” Cyber Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes.
Wee, H. (2014). How The Threat of Cyber Crime is Heightened for Mainstreet . CNBC .
"What is “online fraud”?" National Crime Victim Law Institute. Lewis & Clark, 27 July 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
Cybercrime is a global issue plaguing the world. The dictionary defines cybercrime as “crime conducted via the Internet or some other computer network”(Merriam-Webster). The definition remains very broad because the word “cyber” is defined as “relating to the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality.” Due to the growing number of people gaining access to the internet, rapid development of technology, and the globalization of the world, more of the world population is becoming susceptible to involvement in cybercrime – whether it be as a victim or a criminal. Cybercrime involves different levels of the world on both the victim and criminal side from an individual citizen, to small groups, businesses, and the government, to the countries of the world. There are different groups from law enforcement agencies to the U.S. Secret Service, that are attempting to combat the problem through cooperation and preemptive efforts. If these groups combined with the public to protect themselves and the country from criminals that commit cybercrime, the nation’s network and technology servers would be much safer for technology users. Clearly, cybercrime is a problem because it puts internet users at risk of being taken advantage of or harmed.