Financial crimes

Abstract

This chapter explores how financial crimes impact people's personal finances and what they can do to guard against them. Trust between customer and provider is implicit in most financial services which contribute towards opportunities for crime. Financial crime lies on a spectrum of behaviours that may cause consumer detriment. Financial crimes can result in widespread economic damage. Market abuse typically includes insider dealing, where individual uses information before it becomes publicly available to make a profit. Market abuse may seem at first sight to be a victimless crime. Mis-selling occurs where a salesperson or adviser deliberately or negligently sells a consumer a product or service that is unsuitable for them. For financial crimes to happen there must be perpetrators motivated and able to enact the crimes and enough targets that are susceptible to the crime to make it worthwhile. The chapter focuses on some of theories about why financial crime happens.