Abstract
This chapter introduces the phenomenon of virtual collar crime, that is, quintessentially white collar crimes that are perpetrated entirely in cyberspace. Trust, trust dependency, high skill base criminals and opportunity zones were, and are, the hallmarks of white collar crime. The emerging paradigm of virtual collar crimes negates the requirement that perpetrators be highly skilled. Computer sagacity is no longer the sine quanon for cybercriminals—the phenomenon of ‘Crime as a Service’ has outsourced the skill requirement to third party providers of the required technological knowhow. Alongside the cascading down of such technical knowledge, twenty-first-century society has driven headlong down the information superhighway, with hardly any area of human activity left unexposed to the effects of the ether. This perfect storm of increased virtuality and democratisation of online crime poses immense challenges to the entire twenty-first-century society substratum, risking the future ability and desire of humans to interact with each other, have mutual trust and respect for one another and to have faith in established governmental institutions, commercial corporations and law enforcement. Legal systems must ensure that lives lived virtually are only exposed to an acceptable level of risk.
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Notes
- 1.
White Collar Crime, E. Sutherland, 1949, New York: The Dryden Press.
- 2.
Hence the modus operandi and nomenclature of the crime.
- 3.
See, for example, A. Wright, Organised Crime, 2005, Willan Publishing, at p. 63.
- 4.
See, for example, the various critiques discussed by Hazell Croall – Understanding white collar crime, Croall, 2001, OUP, at pp. 6–7 and the discussion in Chapter 4, Computer Crime and White Collar Crime, Grabosky and Walkley, in International Handbook of white-collar and corporate crime, Pontell and Geis (eds.) Springer, 2007.
- 5.
See, for example, Opportunities, Precipitators and Criminal Decisions: A Reply to Wortley’s Critique of Situational Crime Prevention, Cornish and Clarke, Crime Prevention Studies, 16 (2003), 41, Understanding white collar crime, Croall, OUP, 2001, and The Oxford Handbook of White-Collar Crime, van Slyke, Benson and Cullen (eds.), OUP 2016, particularly Chapter 19 by Tamara Madensen, entitled Opportunities for White Collar Crime.
- 6.
Otherwise known as The Onion Router. TOR browsers allow internet users to surf the internet with a significantly enhanced level of privacy, akin to almost complete anonymity. The browser software, through a system of relays and encryption, routes connection information in a more private way such that it is incredibly time-intensive and difficult to trace individual users. The browser software is available at; https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en
- 7.
As identified by Tamara Madensen, in chapter 19 ‘Opportunities for White Collar Crime’ of The Oxford Handbook of White-Collar Crime, van Slyke, Benson and Cullen (eds.), OUP 2016, particularly.
- 8.
See Chapter 3 of the Europol Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2014, available at; https://www.europol.europa.eu/iocta/2014/chap-3-1-view1.html
- 9.
See for example the EUROPOL SOCTA report 2017, available at; https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/european-union-serious-and-organised-crime-threat-assessment-2017
- 10.
See for example, RFID Tags and the EU: Really Free Internal Distribution? Alan S. Reid (2005) JITLP 4, 1–30, at page 5.
- 11.
See European Commission Report: Definition of a Research and Innovation Policy Leveraging Cloud Computing and IoT Combination, 2014, ISBN 978-92-79-47760-7, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/definition-research-and-innovation-policy-leveraging-cloud-computing-and-iot-combination, at page 10.
- 12.
The term cybernetic enhancement refers to medical implants and devices that are inserted or attached to the human body, either to replace missing parts of the body or to enhance the functionality of existing body parts. See for example the discussion of this topic in; The Future of Human Augmentation and Performance Enhancement, Tracinski, 4th April 2017, Real Clear Science, http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2017/04/04/the_future_of_human_augmentation_and_performance_enhancement.html
- 13.
Via companies such as Uber, available at www.uber.com
- 14.
That is driverless cars, controlled by artificial intelligence software. See, Street Wars 2035: can cyclists and driverless cars ever co-exist? Laura Laker, 14th June 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jun/14/street-wars-2035-cyclists-driverless-cars-autonomous-vehicles
- 15.
See for example: Nissan Leaf electric cars hack vulnerability disclosed, Leo Kelion, BBC News, 24th February 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35642749; Mitsubishi Outlander hybrid car alarm ‘hacked’, BBC News, 6th June 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36444586 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35841571
- 16.
Exoskeletons are external skeletons that are attached to human bodies. They allow disabled people to walk and pick up objects and for soldiers and other professionals to carry heavy loads over a distance. See for example, Rise of the human exoskeletons, Neil Bowdler, BBC News, 4th March 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26418358
- 17.
The term electroencephalograph, or EEG, refers to a machine placed on the head which can record electrical activity in the brain.
- 18.
See for example the commercial website of Neurosky, available at; http://neurosky.com/2015/09/eeg-games-top-5-list-playing-with-your-brainwaves/
- 19.
The ex-vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney, reportedly requested that his pacemaker have no Wi-Fi capability after watching an episode of the American TV show Homeland: Dick Cheney feared assassination by shock to implanted heart defibrillator, Richard Luscombe, Guardian News, 19th October 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/19/dick-cheney-heart-assassination-fear
- 20.
See for example, Study Finds Hackers could use brainwaves to steal passwords, Tiffany Westry Womack, June 29, 2017, Phys.org, available at; https://phys.org/news/2017-06-hackers-brainwaves-passwords.html
- 21.
Tomorrow’s Buildings: Help! My building has been hacked, Jane Wakefield, BBC Technology reporter, 20th April 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35746649
- 22.
See the discussion in; Hackers behind Ukraine power cuts, says US report, BBC News, 26th February 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35667989
- 23.
Remote and Virtual Tower control allows air traffic to be controlled remotely rather than from the control tower at the end of a runway. National Air Traffic Services, Press Release, 19th May 2017, available at; http://www.nats.aero/news/london-city-airport-and-nats-to-introduce-the-uks-first-digital-air-traffic-control-tower/. However, it could be argued that such a system may be more susceptible to hacking than pre-existing computer navigation systems.
- 24.
See the report, Hacking UK Trident: A Growing Threat, Stanislav Abaimov and Paul Ingram, British American Security Information Council, 1st June 2017, available at; http://www.basicint.org/publications/stanislav-abaimov-paul-ingram-executive-director/2017/hacking-uk-trident-growing-threat
- 25.
The UK’s National Health System computer system was taken down by the WannaCry ransomware worm on the 12th of May 2017: What is WannaCry ransomware and why is it attacking global computers? Alex Hern and Samuel Gibbs, 12th May 2017, Guardian online, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/12/nhs-ransomware-cyber-attack-what-is-wanacrypt0r-20
- 26.
See the Amazon website: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrex-Dash-Button/dp/B01I29IZQ6
- 27.
See the definition adopted by The People who Share website: http://www.thepeoplewhoshare.com/blog/what-is-the-sharing-economy/
- 28.
For an overview of some of the contractual risks associated with the Sharing Economy, see Digital Revolution: Challenges for Contract Law in Practice, Schulze and Staudenmeyer (eds.), Nomos/Hart Publishing 2016.
- 29.
The website for Airbnb is https://www.airbnb.co.uk/
- 30.
The website for Uber is https://www.uber.com/
- 31.
The website for eBay is http://www.ebay.co.uk/
- 32.
Information on Amazon.co.uk Marketplace is available at http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=3149141
- 33.
The website for Craigslist is https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
- 34.
It’s seller beware as eBay’s buyer guarantee is exploited by scammers, Anna Tims, 25th April 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/apr/25/ebay-seller-beware-buyer-guarantee-exploited-scammers?CMP=share_btn_link
- 35.
The Terms and Conditions of the eBay Money Back Guarantee in the United Kingdom are available at: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html#receive
- 36.
See the discussion in the Guardian Online article: It’s seller beware as eBay’s buyer guarantee is exploited by scammers, Anna Tims, 25th April 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/apr/25/ebay-seller-beware-buyer-guarantee-exploited-scammers?CMP=share_btn_link
- 37.
For an overview of crypto-currencies, see Chapter 9: Virtual currency in a virtual world: virtually unstoppable? Alan S. Reid, in Fighting Financial Crime in the Global Economic Crisis, Ryder, Turksen, Hassler (eds.), Taylor and Francis, 2014.
- 38.
See Chapter 9: Virtual currency in a virtual world: virtually unstoppable? Alan S. Reid, in Fighting Financial Crime in the Global Economic Crisis, Ryder, Turksen, Hassler (eds.), Taylor and Francis, 2014, at p. 172.
- 39.
See Chapter 9: Virtual currency in a virtual world: virtually unstoppable? Alan S. Reid, in Fighting Financial Crime in the Global Economic Crisis, Ryder, Turksen, Hassler (eds.), Taylor and Francis, 2014, at p. 176.
- 40.
Online retail boom helping criminals smuggle guns into UK, says police chief, Vikram Dodd, 28th February 2016, Guardian Online, http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/28/online-shopping-boom-criminals-smuggle-guns-uk-police-chief?CMP=share_btn_link
- 41.
See Wildlife Smugglers using Facebook to sell ivory and rhino horn, Jeremy Hance, 14th November 2016, Guardian News, available at; https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/14/wildlife-smugglers-using-facebook-sell-ivory-rhino-horn
- 42.
See How Western art collectors are helping to fund Isis, Leila Amineddoleh, 26th February 2016, Guardian News, available at; https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/feb/26/western-art-funding-terrorism-isis-middle-east
- 43.
Indeed, it has been reported that Facebook may well amass 2 bn users by the end of 2017: Facebook is closing in on 2 billion users, Seth Fiegerman, 1st February 2017, CNN, available at; http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/01/technology/facebook-earnings/index.html
- 44.
The website to download the app is available at; http://www.gotinder.com
- 45.
The website is available at; http://www.ashleymadison.com
- 46.
The website is available at; http://www.grindr.com
- 47.
The website is available at; http://www.match.com
- 48.
The website is available at; http://www.eharmony.com
- 49.
Tinder nightmares: man scams two women out of $26,000, Julia Carrie Wong, Guardian Newspaper, 17th February 2016, http://gu.com/p/4gz7n/sbl
- 50.
Virtual Dating Assistants and Invisible Girlfriends. Invisible Girlfriends: a dubious service for dubious customers, Eleanor Robertson, Guardian Newspaper, 29th August 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/29/invisible-girlfriend-a-dubious-service-for-dubious-customers
- 51.
See the article, Sex Toy Maker Pays $3.75 Million to Settle ‘Smart’ Vibrator Lawsuit, Jeff John Roberts, March 10, 2017, Fortune, available at; http://fortune.com/2017/03/10/sex-toy-maker-settlement-smart-vibrator-lawsuit/
- 52.
Revenge porn: the industry profiting from online abuse, Dan Tynan, Guardian Online, 26th April 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/26/revenge-porn-nude-photos-online-abuse?CMP=share_btn_link
- 53.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, 30th June 2017, ISBN: 9781786041241.
- 54.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at p. 2 of the executive summary.
- 55.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at p. 2 of the executive summary.
- 56.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at pp. 2 and 3 of the executive summary.
- 57.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at p. 2 of the executive summary.
- 58.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at p. 2 of the executive summary.
- 59.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at p. 2 of the executive summary. The report found that there were at least 10 campaigns live in March 2017, dedicated to education and awareness raising as regards online fraud.
- 60.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at p. 8 of the executive summary.
- 61.
Online Fraud, National Audit Office, at p. 8 of the executive summary.
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Reid, A.S. (2018). Financial Crime in the Twenty-First Century: The Rise of the Virtual Collar Criminal. In: Ryder, N. (eds) White Collar Crime and Risk. Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47384-4_9
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