Victims Of Fraud Research Articles

The Structures for Policing Fraud in the UK : A Critical Assessment

Due to the revolutionary development of the Internet and communication technology, fraud and related economic crimes have exploded over the past 30 years. In England and Wales, the likelihood of being a victim of fraud and computer fraud is four times higher than that of robbery. Law enforcement structures in many countries around the world are adapting from traditional crimes such as theft and robbery to new crimes such as fraud, hacking, and ransomware. In the UK, a new millennium began responding to these changes from 2000 to 2010 and new organizations such as National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and Action Fraud to enhance the existing limited capacity for fraudulent crime. The purpose of this study is to explain the changes in the police and judicial system in the UK to cope with the increasing number of fraudulent crimes, and to make a critical evaluation from this important point of view. The UK's fraud prevention system is theoretically very good with the establishment of the Integrated Fraud Reporting Center, Action Fraud, and NFIB, which preemptively blocks fraudulent phone numbers by analyzing and utilizing big data However, it was analyzed as a major problem that the actual manpower and resources administered to the police were very short, and that the priority of the police regarding fraud prevention was much lower than that of other crimes. It is hoped that this study will help to derive useful lessons and policy implications for Korea and other similar countries fighting the explosively increasing tsunami of fraudulent crimes.

Keselamatan Peribadi di Facebook: Ancaman dan Penyelesaian

Personal Security on Facebook: Threats and Solutions ABSTRACT In the age of globalization and sophistication of information technology, society is increasingly exposed to current changes and criminal threats such as personal security threats through online applications like Facebook. Therefore, this study discusses the forms of personal security threats through Facebook and its solution in Malaysia. Facebook is one of the most popular communication mediums in Malaysia and has millions of users both domestically and abroad. It is friendly, easy, fast and can share all your daily activities whether in writing, picture or video status. This study aims to highlight the forms of personal security threats that start on Facebook, give public awareness to the Malaysian community while using Facebook and provide recommendations on remedial measures before or after fraud on social media. This study used qualitative methods to obtain data and information from the Royal Malaysian Police, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission as well as the library study. The study found that Facebook helps people to connect, trading and communicate with individuals and communities. However, it also has an impact on personal safety for individuals, communities and organizations through cybercrime threats, fraud, data theft, exploitation and leakage of personal information, love fraud, slander, cyberbullying, encourage teen problems and cheating couples. This study can help the public to be more cautious when using Facebook, not just provide personal information to strangers and give them exposure to the actions they need to take when they become victims of fraud. Keywords: Social media, Facebook, communication, threat, personal security.

“I Suspect That the Pictures Are Stolen”: Romance Fraud, Identity Crime, and Responding to Suspicions of Inauthentic Identities

Romance fraud impacts the lives of thousands of people globally. Financial losses exceed millions of dollars each year and are steadily increasing annually. It occurs when an offender uses the guise of an intimate relationship to gain a financial advantage. Offenders use a variety of platforms and communications methods to target victims and develop the required trust and rapport to defraud them. As part of this process, offenders use false identities. This can be through the misappropriation of a genuine person’s identity, or it can be through the stealing of photos and other images of a genuine person to create a false or fictitious identity. In this way, romance fraud encompasses two categories of victims: those who lose money through a relationship and those who are subject to identity crime by romance fraud offenders. This article examines how individuals responded to suspicions of inauthentic identities to a person they were communicating with online. It uses romance fraud complaints lodged with Scamwatch (an Australian online fraud porting portal) between July 2018 and July 2019 (inclusive). The qualitative analysis indicates that many complainants used an internet search to verify or refute their suspicions about their partner. This yielded substantiated results in many cases and confirmed that the offender’s identity was not genuine. The article explores the implications for this victim-based detection strategy. In doing this, it argues that while effective for romance fraud victims, responses can further exacerbate the ongoing harms experienced by those whose identities have been compromised by romance fraud offenders. The article concludes with a discussion about the future effectiveness of internet searches to reduce romance fraud and the impact of this strategy on third parties whose identities are compromised by offenders.

Routine activities theory and food fraud victimization

Food fraud is a widespread problem that involves the act of defrauding consumers for economic gain. Food fraud incidents pose a considerable threat to the economic stability of agri-food industry as well as the health and welfare of consumers. With the increasing use of online grocery shopping, the Internet has facilitated deceptive and fraudulent practices by criminals. Using a sample of U.S. consumers, the current study explores the applicability of routine activities theory in the context of food fraud. The findings show that online routine activities, online target suitability, exposure to food ads, and perceived risk are significantly linked to food fraud victimization. Our study demonstrates that the routine activities theory is a useful framework to understand the vulnerabilities associated with food fraud. Implications for research and policy are discussed.

Predicting Fraud Victimization Using Classical Machine Learning.

Protecting financial consumers from investment fraud has been a recurring problem in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to predict the demographic characteristics of investors who are likely to be victims of investment fraud. Data for this paper came from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada’s (IIROC) database between January of 2009 and December of 2019. In total, 4575 investors were coded as victims of investment fraud. The study employed a machine-learning algorithm to predict the probability of fraud victimization. The machine learning model deployed in this paper predicted the typical demographic profile of fraud victims as investors who classify as female, have poor financial knowledge, know the advisor from the past, and are retired. Investors who are characterized as having limited financial literacy but a long-time relationship with their advisor have reduced probabilities of being victimized. However, male investors with low or moderate-level investment knowledge were more likely to be preyed upon by their investment advisors. While not statistically significant, older adults, in general, are at greater risk of being victimized. The findings from this paper can be used by Canadian self-regulatory organizations and securities commissions to inform their investors’ protection mandates.

The increase of SIM Swap Frauds and new risks on European costumers: Payment services and data protection in Italian law courts

This paper analyses consumers’ legal protection when they are victims of banking frauds through the internet banking systems. In the last decade, there was a strong increase in telematic frauds, also the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent use of smart working by employees has been exploited by fraudsters. In this context, customers became the favourite victims of cybercriminals, who have found more complex telematic frauds based on social engineering, such as chief executive officer (CEO) frauds, but more often the SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) Swap Fraud, through the identification procedures employed by mobile operators and becoming the new owner of the SIM card of victims. In this respect, the recent legal reforms on payment services and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became the milestone of consumers’ legal protection. Italian leading cases on SIM Swap Frauds will be analysed in more detail, describing the main criteria and principles of European and Italian data protection laws applied to personal data processing of the victims.

The Distillation of National Crime Data into A Plan for Elderly Fraud Prevention: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of U.S. Postal Inspection Service Cases of Fraud against the Elderly

ABSTRACT The following article represents the product of a research study funded by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and conducted by researchers from the Identity Management and Information Protection Center (CIMIP) of Utica College. The study focuses on frauds committed against victims aged 55 years and older. The primary objective was to uncover as much key empirical information on characteristics of victims of elderly fraud, those who commit these crimes, and the methods they employ to commit these fraudulent acts. For this study, researchers were afforded the opportunity to examine criminal case investigation data from the USPIS national criminal case database on elderly frauds. The data that supplies the foundation for this study relies on information from criminal case investigators transposed to a national database reflecting critical characteristics of cases of fraud against the elderly. Recommendations are offered as to how the analysis of this information can be beneficial in the development of effective public awareness campaigns for helping to prevent elderly fraud victimization.

Online Fraud Victimization in China: A Case Study of Baidu Tieba

ABSTRACT When it comes to online populations and markets, China has some of the largest in the world. As a result, Chinese cybercriminals have more opportunities to target and access victims. While extant research in Western countries has examined online fraud victimization and offenses in virtual communities, a relatively small body of research on these phenomena has been conducted in non-Western societies. This study attempts to address this gap by analyzing online fraud victimization in Chinese online communities. Routine activity theory is applied to understand the patterns and dynamics of victimization. Data were collected from Baidu Tieba (a Chinese version of Craigslist), a prominent Chinese online platform for reporting victimization. This study highlights the range of services, types, and methods along which victimization occurs. The results, which reflect China’s rapid pace of technological development, show that different types of fraud are perpetrated online and that victimization methods are associated with particular types of media. This study also identifies implications for China and other countries where similar crimes and instances in cyberspace occur.

Contextual and Social Predictors of Scam Susceptibility and Fraud Victimization

Contextual and Social Predictors of Scam Susceptibility and Fraud Victimization

To Whom Do Victims of Mass-Market Consumer Fraud Complain?

Utilizing data from surveys of mass-market consumer fraud sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission in 2005, 2011, and 2017, this paper explores whether victims of such mass-market consumer frauds complain to anyone beyond their families and friends about being victimized, and if they do complain, to whom they complain. It also explores whether victims with different demographic characteristics are more or less likely to complain. In about 45 percent of instances, victims complained to someone beyond their family and friends. This might have been the seller or manufacturer of the fraudulent product of service; a provider of payment services such as a credit card company, a bank or another payment service; a Better Business Bureau; or a government agency. This figure is stable across the three surveys included in this analysis. While there is little, if any, variation in complaint rates across the three surveys, there is considerable variation in the likelihood that victims of different types of frauds complained. Those who were billed for an item that they had never agreed to purchase were the most likely to report having complained – with 61 percent of those victims indicating that they had complained to at least one party. Fifty-eight percent of those who paid for a product or service that they never received reported having complained. For victims who experienced other types of frauds, no more than 40 percent complained. Of those who purchased fraudulent credit card insurance or a fraudulent computer repair, less than 20 percent complained. Not surprisingly, complaints were most frequently directed at someone directly involved in the transaction – a seller or a manufacturer. Thirty percent of victims reported having complained either to a seller or to a manufacturer. About 12 percent complained to a credit card company, a bank, or some other payment service provider. Less than 3 percent of victims complained to a government entity. Somewhat more than half of these – 1.5 percent of victims – complained to a local authority – the local police or a local consumer agency. Less than 1 percent complained to a state Attorney General or other state authority or to a federal agency. Just over 2 percent of victims reported having complained to a Better Business Bureau. Together, 4.8 percent of victims complained to a BBB or to a government agency. To whom a complaint is directed varies somewhat with the type of problem being considered. While a seller or manufacturer is the most frequent recipient of complaints for most of the types of fraud considered here, the percentage of victims who complained to a seller or manufacturer ranged from 43 percent among victims who paid for an item that they never received to 6 percent for victims of fraudulent computer repair offerings. The percentage of complainants who complained to a governmental entity or the BBB likewise varied with the type of fraud – with around 20 percent of victims of a debt-relief fraud complaining to one of these entities, while less than 1 percent of those who purchased a fraudulent weight-loss product did so. Rates of complaining differ somewhat depending on the demographic characteristics of the consumer who was reporting on the experience. Consumers who were more educated were more likely to complain about their experiences. Looking at race and ethnicity, Latinos were less likely to complain than were those in other racial and ethnic groups, though overall the differences across racial and ethnic groups are not statistically significant. There was no statistically significant relationship between the age of a victim and likelihood of the victim complaining.

The relevance of cyber security education in the classroom

Despite the fact that the Internet has had a positive effect on people's lives, there have been some negative problems associated with its use. Owing to a lack of knowledge and self-mechanism among Internet users to protect themselves from being victims of cyber-bullying, online fraud, racial abuse, pornography, and gambling, cases of cyber-bully, online fraud, racial abuse, pornography, and gambling have risen dramatically. However, previous research has shown that Internet users’ awareness is still poor or moderate. One of the most important steps to take is to instill information and understanding in Internet users as early as possible, i.e., young children. Young children, in particular, must be taught how to act safely in cyberspace and how to defend themselves in the process. The aim of this systematic review paper is to investigate why it is so important for modern learners to be informed about the dangers of being involved in cyberspace, as well as the methods that stakeholders may use to encourage cyber security education in schools. A few methods for implementing cyber security education in schools are addressed in this article.

ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ ПРОФИЛЬ МАКИАВЕЛЛИСТОВ В РАМКАХ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ СИМПТОМОКОМПЛЕКСА ЖЕРТВ МАНИПУЛЯТИВНОГО ПОВЕДЕНИЯ

Fraud is widespread and every day it is more and more creative. Machiavellianism is of great interest for the symptom complex of fraud victims and resistance to manipulative behavior. The authors studied the psychological profile of the low and high machiavellians. The first hypothesis was that low machiavellians have different level of hostility, development of such traits as Consent and Conscientiousness, moral identity, anti-social creativity, and thinking styles, than high machiavellians. The second hypothesis said that machiavellians of different levels have different values. According to the hypothesis, low machiavellians value social focus, while high machiavellians value personal focus. The sample consisted of 150 students (the average age was 18.8 ±1.50). We used the fol-lowing adapted questionnaires: aggression (A. Bass, M.Perry), "NEO-FFI" of the question-naire "NEO PI-R" (P. Costa, R. MacRae), "Mac-IV", behavioral features of malevolent crea-tivity (N. Hao et al.), PVQ-R (Sh. Schwartz), CTI (Epstein). The questionnaire By K. Aquina and A. Reed II (2002) was used to diagnose the moral identity. Low machiavellians have significantly higher (according to the Mann-Whitney criterion) Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, moral identity, higher values of Social focus, General Scale of Constructive Thinking, Naive optimism and significantly lower anti-social creativity, higher values of Personal focus, Categorical thinking, hostility. Naive optimism significantly positively correlated with the values of Achievement, Security – personal, Security – Public, interpersonal Conformity, Universalism concern for nature, Benevolence as the sense of duty". According to regression analysis, the predictors of Naive optimism were the values Security – personal and Security – public. We have compiled a psychological profile of young people with low values of Machiavel-lianism. It includes such features as the importance of moral identity, low hostility, control of one's own impulses, cooperation with other people, consideration of the interests of others, overcoming personal interests for the sake of the interests of others, self-restraint and order. They will not use their own creativity to harm other people; they are able to adapt their way of thinking to the requirements of the situation. The peculiarity of low machiavellians is a high naive optimism, that is situational, and combined with the significance of the values of per-sonal and public security. Naive optimism can manifest itself in situations where somebody can offer something that is meaningful to a person with a naive optimism mindset. In such situations, it is possible to use unconstructive strategies, and be unable to recognize the threat. The listed set of characteristics creates a risk of being manipulated by fraudsters. The results show that thinking styles, values, and levels of self-control are important for the study of manipulative behavior victims and the study of resistance to such behavior in people of different age.

What Factors Influence Fraud Victimization of the Elderly?: An Empirical Examination of Risk Factors in a Structural-Choice Model

What Factors Influence Fraud Victimization of the Elderly?: An Empirical Examination of Risk Factors in a Structural-Choice Model

Financial Literacy Overconfidence and Investment Fraud Victimization

Financial Literacy Overconfidence and Investment Fraud Victimization

Scammed and scarred: Effects of investment fraud on its victims

We study the effects of investment-fraud victimization using information on thousands of Ponzi scheme participants combined with register data on the Finnish population. A difference-in-differences analysis reveals the victims earn 5% less income after the scheme collapses. This persistent loss arises from a combination of unemployment, absenteeism, mobility, and labor force exit, and its long-run value exceeds the direct investment loss. Victims also experience higher indebtedness and more divorces and shy away from investments delegated to asset managers. These scars from fraud victimization add to the social cost of fraud and are relevant for optimal regulatory design.

Theorising the impact of COVID-19 on the fraud victimisation of older persons

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand how COVID-19 may alter the vulnerability levels of older persons, and how this may change their potential for fraud victimisation. This is particularly focused on the government’s use of isolation, restrictions on activity and physical distancing to combat the virus.Design/methodology/approachIn the absence of statistics, this paper examines what is currently known about older persons and fraud, as well as the recent knowledge of COVID-19-related fraud. On this basis, the paper hypothesises the conceivable changes to vulnerability that potentially expose older persons to fraud.FindingsThis paper argues that COVID-19 has not seen “new” fraudulent approaches, rather offenders have used COVID-19 as a context to their existing schemes. Further, the current response to COVID-19 can substantially increase the number of older persons experiencing levels of vulnerability, and therefore increase their fraud risk.Research limitations/implicationsThe current paper applies existing knowledge into the current circumstances of COVID-19 and lays the foundations for empirical work to be conducted in this area.Practical implicationsThis paper provides an impetus to target the well-being and connectivity of older persons, (regardless of the COVID-19 context), to reduce their vulnerability to fraud victimisation.Social implicationsThis paper highlights the importance of connectivity for older persons, and the need to focus on overcoming social isolation and loneliness.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to hypothesise the effects of COVID-19 and its associated government responses to the overall vulnerability of older persons, with a focus on the potential for fraud victimisation.

Disguised Plagiarism

Disguised Plagiarism

The results of assorted research on the questions of dynamics of victimization from Internet fraud in the Russian Federation (2010-2019)

The object of this research is the process of victimization of population of the Russian Federation from Internet fraud in the period from 2010 to 2019. The subject of this research is a number of criminological indicators that characterize the dynamics of victimization and criminal victimization. Using the empirical data, the author determines the actual number of the Internet fraud victims; built a retrospective model of development of this process based on calculation of the average annual rate of growth; increases awareness on the dynamics of the number of victims until 2013. The conclusion is made on the growing scope of victimization, which according to the data of assorted research of 2013-2019 carries an exponential function. Each three years the total number of victims doubles, which continues to grow since 2012 (associated with the reform of criminal legislation aimed at identification of the additional types of fraud using computer technologies). This pattern was used for structuring the projection models of victimization of users of the Russian segment of the Internet until 2021 (inclusively). The results of additional assorted research of 2020 demonstrate that only in 20% of cases the damage from Internet fraud exceeds 1,000 rubles. In accordance of the principle of recurrence of the Internet fraud, the structure of victimization is as follows: 52% are the victims of such crimes in recent year; 1/3 of respondents were the victims in previous years, but not in recent year; and only 13% became the victims in past years and recent year.  

The demographic profile of victims of investment fraud: an update

PurposeThis study aims to examine the demographic factors of investors, contributing to financial victimization that occurs in Canada from June of 2008 to December of 2019.Design/methodology/approachIn all 235 cases disclosing the details of financial crime victims are collected from the Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) enforcement platform between June of 2009 and December of 2019 for the analysis. The study used a descriptive analysis to showcase the demographic characteristics of investors who have been victims of financial crimes in Canada.FindingsThe findings indicate that these investors of age 60 and above were more likely to fall prey to various types of financial crime. The results also disclosed that retirees and investors with limited investment knowledge increase the probability of being vulnerable to the perpetrators than others.Research limitations/implicationsOverall, the study helps regulators in the securities industry gain insights into demographic portraits of the more vulnerable investors. Hence, more precautionary measures could pitch into these concerns to protect specific subsets of investors from investment fraud.Originality/valueIndividuals who are more vulnerable to investment fraud might not be entirely comparable with the stereotypical victims that most studies portray. The research gap could cause individual investors who appear to be at lower risk to unconsciously fall prey to investment fraud. The IIROC study, detailing the demographic factors of victims, can fill the gap and improve understanding of the tendency of victims.

COVID-19 and Cyber Fraud: Emerging Threats During the Pandemic

The emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has threatened physical and mental health, and changed the behaviour and decision-making processes of individuals, organisations, and institutions worldwide. As many services move online due to the pandemic, COVID-19-themed cyber fraud is also growing. This article explores cyber fraud victimization and cyber security threats during COVID-19 using psychological and traditional criminological theories. It also provides a COVID-19-themed cyber fraud taxonomy using empirical evidence from institutional and agency reports. Through organizing COVID-19-themed cyber fraud into four different categorizations, we aim to offer classification insights to researchers and industry professionals so that stakeholders can effectively manage emerging cyber fraud risks in our current pandemic.