FREE ESSAY ON WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

White collar crime refers to that category of crime that tends to be committed by
professionals. Securities Fraud, Insider Trading, Bank Fraud, Tax Fraud, and Money
Laundering are all examples of white-collar crime.
COMMON TYPES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME
1.Bank Fraud:
To engage in an act or pattern of activity where the purpose is to
defraud a bank of funds.
2.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. 
3.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. 
4.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. 
5.Computer fraud: 
Where computer hackers steal information sources contained on
computers such as: bank information, credit cards, and proprietary
information. 
6.Counterfeiting: 
Occurs when someone copies or imitates an item without having been
authorized to do so and passes the copy off for the genuine or original
item. Counterfeiting is most often associated with money however can
also be associated with designer clothing, handbags and watches. 
7.Credit Card Fraud: 
The unauthorized use of a credit card to obtain goods of value. 
8.Currency Schemes: 
The practice of speculating on the future value of currencies. 
9.Embezz1ement: 
When a person who has been entrusted with money or property
appropriates it for his or her own use and benefit. 
10.Environmental Schemes: 
The overbilling and fraudulent practices exercised by corporations
which purport to clean up the environment. 
11.Extortion: 
Occurs when one person illegally obtains property from another by
actual or threatened force, fear, or violence, or under cover of official
right. 
12.Forgery: 
When a person passes a false or worthless instrument such as a check or
counterfeit security with the intent to defraud or injure the recipient. 
2. For some, WHITE COLLAR CRIME is not viewed as a crime at all, because of its
non-violent nature. Violent crime has an immediate and observable impact on its victim
which raises the ire of the public, whereas WHITE COLLAR CRIME frequently goes undetected
or is
viewed as a bending of the rules. Yet WHITE COLLAR CRIME can create the greater havoc.
The victim of an assault will recover, however, the impact of a fraud can last a
lifetime. This is especially true when the elderly are victimized, as they have little or
no hope of re-establishing
themselves in financial terms. 
3. Contrary to the popular belief, White Collar criminals are thieves and the methods
used to conceal their offenses are both artful and ingenious. Concealment of the crime is
always an objective of the offender, and it becomes an element of the crime itself.
Because it is an artful
form of deceit which is skilfully disguised , the investigation itself is often long and
laborious as far as proving criminal intent is concerned. The offence itself may be
disguised in a maze of legitimate transactions, which are quite proper if viewed in
isolation, however, the cumulative
effect is the commission of a criminal offence. From the standpoint of the criminal, the
ideal white collar crime is one that will never be recognized or detected as a criminal
act. 
4. The distinguishing characteristic of such investigations is the requirement for the
investigator to establish criminal intent and the underlying motives of the subject, by
reassembling the pieces
of the jigsaw puzzle to reveal the illegitimacy of the transaction, versus an oversight
or a careless act. 
5. On this basis, it has long been established that the nature of white collar crime
demands specialized training and expertise in the area of business, commerce and law, on
the part of those who are responsible for investigating and prosecuting white collar
crime and the same holds true today. The sophisticated nature of the crime, the
professionals involved, and the fact
that the offenders can usually afford the best of defense lawyers demands a professional
investigations as well as prosecutorial expertise, if we are to be successful in the
fight against white collar crime.