NCJ Number
179197
Date Published
1999
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines how the increased use of electronic transmissions by government agencies and financial institutions creates additional risks of illegal and fraudulent conduct; a variety of solutions to the problems in Australia, many of which also use computers, are described.
Abstract
The ways in which governments are being victimized through the use of computerized technologies can be placed in five categories. The theft of government benefits, which involves the largest amount of loss, consists of revenue fraud, customs and excise revenue loss through the illegal importation of electronic goods, social security and health benefits fraud, credit card fraud, and the theft of telecommunications services. Other losses, listed in the order of loss amounts, are misappropriation of funds and counterfeiting, theft of information, theft of computer hardware and software, and the theft of time. There are a wide range of strategies available to prevent and to control such crime, some of which use well-established fraud-control practices, such as risk assessment and the provision of information to those most at risk. Others make use of the most recent digital technologies to prevent systems from being used for improper purposes or to detect illegal conduct as it occurs. In ensuring that governments cannot be defrauded in the 21st century, it will be essential for all those involved to work cooperatively in making use of the latest technologies of computer crime control. 22 references