NCJ Number
159011
Journal
Criminology Australia Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: (May 1995) Pages: 23-26
Date Published
1995
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This overview of crimes against business in Australia considers piracy at sea, false invoices, product counterfeiting, fraud, and extortion, followed by an overview of efforts to counter crimes against businesses.
Abstract
Piracy at sea includes the conventional "stealing" of a ship at sea and the "sinking" of a ship at sea. In most cases of piracy, some or all of the cargo is stolen and the ship is allowed to proceed, in contrast to the "steal and sink" practice of the late 1980's in the South Atlantic. Another form of crime against business involves false invoices. Offenders send invoices to companies for products or services never supplied and quite often never requested. Such invoices usually come from a fictitious, but plausible, company located in western Europe. Product counterfeiting costs the genuine producer sales and reputation. Product counterfeiting no longer only involves fake watches or clothing, but now includes machinery and equipment, electronics, computer technology, spare parts of all types, and even pharmaceuticals. Fraud is another crime against business and includes misappropriation of funds, expense account fraud, purchases for personal use, manipulation of personal checks, check forgery, and the use of "phantom" vendors. Extortion involving business victims may include the kidnapping of business executives or members of their families for ransom or may involve product-based extortion, which is the actual or threatened interference with products. The final section of the article reviews the efforts of the International Chamber of Commerce to counter crimes against business. The main aims of the Advisory Council for Commercial Crime are listed.