Improving the Police Response to Online Fraud

Cross, Cassandra; Blackshaw, D.M.S.

doi:10.1093/police/pau044

Cited by 42 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The next section, using examples from real victims' accounts, will illustrate the anatomy of how the offenders organize the scams and the techniques they use that lead victims to fall for them. There have been only a few studies that have explored this area (see for example Button et al, 2014;Fischer et al, 2013;Langenderfer & Shimp, 2001;Titus & Gover, 2001;Whitty, 2013Whitty, , 2015 and the accounts of fraud victims (Button et al, 2014;Cross & Blackshaw, 2015;Cross et al, 2019;Prenzler, 2017). Some of the core techniques illustrated by this literature includes impersonation of official organizations, visceral appeals, time pressures, grooming victims to name some.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding pet scams: A case study of advance fee and non-delivery fraud using victims’ accounts

Whittaker

Button

2020

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology

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Advance fee and non-delivery frauds have become very common with the growing preference for online shopping and the new opportunities this brings for online offenders. This article uses unique access to a volunteer group’s database focused on preventing pet scams to explore this type of crime. Distances, among other factors, make the purchase of pets online common in countries such as the USA, Australia and South Africa. This modality of purchase has been exploited by organized criminals largely based in Cameroon to conduct advance fee and non-delivery frauds. The article uses data from the volunteer group Petscams.com to provide unique insights on the techniques of the offenders with particular reference to the strategies used to maximize victimization by using real accounts of victims of such frauds. It also briefly notes how the COVID-19 crisis has been used to adapt this type of scam. The article’s discussion identifies the need for a more nuanced assessment into the role of victim oriented voluntary organizations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding pet scams: A case study of advance fee and non-delivery fraud using victims’ accounts

Whittaker

Button

2020

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology

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“…It is evident that, in order to reduce cyber fraud victimization, a victim-centric focus to crime prevention is a viable option. It is perhaps for this reason that recent policing strategies have started to take a preventive approach to reduce cyber fraud victimization (Cross, 2016;Cross & Blackshaw, 2015;Webster & Drew, 2017). Unfortunately, to date there has been very little research into the effectiveness of education campaigns available to the public (Cross & Kelly, 2016; House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications, 2010).…”

Section: Designing Crime Prevention Education: Police and Victimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dearth of knowledge is particularly evident in the context of policing (Webster & Drew, 2017). Given the significant challenges in addressing crime across international borders, increasingly police will be expected to move away from traditional policing approaches that primarily target the apprehension of offenders (Cross & Blackshaw, 2015;Davidson & Martellozzo, 2008;Hinduja, 2004;Webster & Drew, 2017). As discussed in this paper, the nature of cybercrime necessitates the development of more effective approaches that involve investment in innovative, victim focused education and prevention activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online victimization risk and self-protective strategies: developing police-led cyber fraud prevention programs

Drew

Farrell

2018

Police Practice and Research

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The prevalence and impact of cyber fraud continues to increase exponentially with new and more innovative methods developed by offenders to target and exploit victims for their own financial reward. Traditional crime reaction methods used by police have proved largely ineffective in this context, with offenders typically located outside of the police jurisdiction of their victims. Given this, some police agencies have begun to adopt a victim focused, crime prevention approach to cyber fraud. The current research explores with a sample of two hundred and eighteen potential cyber fraud victims, the relationship between online victimization risk, knowledge and use of crime prevention strategies. The study found those most at risk of cyber fraud victimization despite accurate perceptions of risk and knowledge of self-protective behaviors in the online environment underutilise online prevention strategies. This research has important implications for police agencies who are designing and delivering cyber fraud education. It provides guidance for the development of effective prevention programs based on practical skills development.

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“…Indeed, within the police, many insightful investigators have warned of early signs of profound changes, although they have been largely confined to specialised and pioneering technical units, long marginalised within their own organisations (Burns et al 2004;Pollitt 2010). The emerging response has primarily been limited to specific areas (Cross and Blackshaw 2015), generally the most serious and sophisticated forms of computer-related crimes, while the online fraud is pervasive and largely transcends police organisations (Loveday 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whatever these hesitations regarding what direction to take, the police should now offensively find their place (Cross and Blackshaw 2015;Levi et al 2017;Loveday 2018). At a minimum, police must be considered a credible interlocutor when interacting with the public and other professional stakeholders regarding online frauds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orienting the Development of Crime Analysis Processes in Police Organisations Covering the Digital Transformations of Fraud Mechanisms

Rossy

Ribaux

2020

Eur J Crim Policy Res

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A significant, and likely dominant, proportion of fraud is now conducted online. Police struggle to integrate this emerging reality into their processes, while expectations of this institution are high. These types of cybercrimes alter the volume and complexity of problems compared to how they previously manifested and require profound transformations of crime analysis methods to address them proactively. These developments face many difficulties, such as the quality of accessible data, the lack of existing analytical models and the need to increase police knowledge of fraud mechanisms within every level of organisations. We suggest methods to overcome these obstacles, which consist of implementing an approach integrating theories from various fields in criminology and forensic intelligence to examine the digital transformations of certain criminal processes. We take, as an example, how a generic script expressing the anatomy of an existing type of fraud can be used to interpret their new digital forms. This modelling activity both provides new insight into specific frauds and highlights relevant dimensions that are useful in orienting the development of crime analysis systems.

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Improving the Police Response to Online Fraud

Cited by 42 publications

References 12 publications

Understanding pet scams: A case study of advance fee and non-delivery fraud using victims’ accounts

Understanding pet scams: A case study of advance fee and non-delivery fraud using victims’ accounts

Online victimization risk and self-protective strategies: developing police-led cyber fraud prevention programs

Orienting the Development of Crime Analysis Processes in Police Organisations Covering the Digital Transformations of Fraud Mechanisms

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