Information Technology and White-Collar Crime Research Paper

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Given the virtual ubiquity of information technology (IT) today, it is not surprising that while collar crime using these resources has assumed new importance and relevance (Dervan, 2014). As discussed further below, white collar crimes are by definition nonviolent in nature but the enormous amount of funds that are derived from such unlawful activities are increasingly being diverted to fund violent terrorist organizations that target the interests of the United States at home and abroad (Ndubueze & Igbo, 2016; Priyatno, 2017). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of white collar crime in general and how IT has been used to perpetrate these crimes in recent years in particular. In addition, an examination will also be provided concerning the various types of white collar crimes that are committed using IT and how they are facilitated through collaboration between mainstream business practitioners and the criminal underworld preparatory to developing a final study concerning these issues. Finally, a discussion concerning how the current legal framework in the U.S. only encourages white collar crimes by high-level executives and corresponding recommendations will conclude the study.

Review and Discussion

Overview of white collar crime

In a speech delivered at the American Sociological Society in 1939, sociologist Edwin Sutherland coined the term “white-collar crime” to describe “crimes committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (as cited in Cliff & Wall-Parker, 2017, p. 1). This popular perception of white collar crimes being typically committed by the more otherwise-respectable members of American society have resulted in a concomitant view that these perpetrators should be treated less harshly than hardened criminals that engage in violent crimes. As previously reported, the definition provided by Black’s Law Dictionary (1990), states that white collar crime is “a term signifying various types of unlawful, nonviolent conduct committed by corporations and individuals including theft or fraud and other violations of trust committed in the course of the offender’s occupation” (p. 1596). This legal definition of white collar crime is not universally accepted, however, and many sociologists cite other salient factors are being characteristic of these types of criminal behaviors, but they all share two common features that make this category of crime appear less “criminal” in nature compared to other categories: (1) their nonviolent nature and (2) their inextricable connection with perpetrators’ occupations.

The prevailing view that white collar criminals should be treated differently from other categories of law offenders serves, at least in part, to explain why some people turn to crime in order to achieve their personal and professional goals even when they were not necessarily forced to do so. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence that indicates some managers will commit white collar crimes whether they need to or not depending on the circumstances (Cliff & Wall-Parker, 2017). When managers are confronted with financial pressure, however, the likelihood that they will engage in some type of fraudulent behaviors at work intensifies greatly. In fact, financial pressure is considered one of the three primary causes of white collar crime as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. The fraud triangle: a framework for identifying white collar crime opportunities

Source: http://www.brumellgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Fraud_Triangle-680x380.png

As the fraud triangle depicted in Figure 1 above makes clear, many people may succumb to the temptation to commit white collar crimes by virtue of this combination of factors, but it is important to note that all of them (or even two of them) are not necessarily essential.

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In other words, each of these factors (or another factor altogether) may be sufficiently compelling to induce even the most loyal and honest employees to perpetrate some type of white collar crime. Moreover, it is the rare criminals who are unable to rationalize their actions for whatever reasons. The fact that the prevailing social view of such crimes places them in a lesser category compared to violent crimes only adds additional impetus to the process. It is also important to note that the “opportunity” factor has been amplified greatly in recent years through the proliferation of IT resources at home and in the workplace, and these issues are discussed further below.

White collar crimes and information technology

Criminals of yesteryear could only dream about a technology that allowed them to commit crimes without ever leaving the comfort of their homes and it is little wonder that IT has created an explosion in white collar crimes. Based on the foregoing definition of white collar crime as involving individuals’ occupation and being nonviolent in order to realize an unjust gain of some sort, it is readily apparent that IT can be exploited in a number of ways. While gaining unauthorized access to computer systems is a crime in and of itself, the foregoing definition of white collar crime also requires that the perpetrators unjustly benefit materially (e.g., monetarily) in some fashion as a part of their occupation.

One of the most common strategies for using IT for white collar crimes is to embezzle funds from an employer. According to one law firm, “Embezzlement [can] involve the complex manipulation of computers through what investigators and corporate financial security experts refer to as computer embezzlement” (What is computer embezzlement?, 2018, para. 3). While the types of white collar crimes that can be committed using IT resources are limitless, the five most common types of these types are as follows:

1. Logic bombs: These methods use time-specific computer commands that are invoked at different times in order to illegally transfer funds, delete data or even turn off a computer system at prescheduled intervals;

2. Data diddling: This method disables a computer system’s embezzlement-detection control mechanisms;

3. Trapdoor and “salami” techniques: This method relies on the “slow but sure” approach to embezzling funds by deducting tiny amounts of funds from every financial transaction in the expectation that their loss will go unnoticed and illicitly diverting it them another account to which the employee has access.

4. Skimming: Popularly referred to as identity theft, this method involves stealing consumers’ computer-based account information from an organizational database and using it to illegally acquire goods and services.

5. Trojan horses: Finally, this method involves planting hidden commands that invoke unauthorized functions in existing computer systems, typically to divert funds to another account to which the perpetrator has access (What is computer embezzlement?, 2018)

Although the five types of computer-assisted white collar crimes listed above are the most common, it is reasonable to posit that this list is certainly not exhaustive. Indeed, a….....

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