When Economic Crime Becomes Organized: The Role of Information Technologies, a Case Study

• NCJ Number: 193282
• Journal: Current Issue in Criminal Justice Volume: 11 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2000 Pages: 1-5
• Author(s): Andrea Di Nicola; Alessandro Scartezzini
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Downloaded February 21, 2002

Annotation

This article examines the idea that economic crime has been increasingly committed on an organized basis. The effect is that the division between economic crime and organized crime is disintegrating. In order to develop this argument, the Italian case of computer crime, Operation Ice Trap, is reviewed.

Abstract

The globalization of the market has introduced new opportunities for criminals. Globalization has allowed those interested in fraud the opportunity to act on an international level by taking advantage of the lack of regulations in commercial and financial markets. An example of the case of international fraud was discovered by Italian police in collaboration with other countries. Operation Ice Trap led to the arrest of six people and seizures in many Italian cities. The investigation started with a communication by a British company claiming that hackers were spying on their activities and led to the finding that criminals were obtaining credit cards pins and passwords that were illegally gained from electronic databases. This case and others are troubling crime investigators in many European countries. The trends in economic crime show that its evolution is linked to the new features of the market, and information transfer in particular. This evolution leads economic crime to new forms of organization. The relationship between economic and organized crime is valid for a number of reasons: organized crime and economic crime thrive in a parasitic context; they rely on networks; they use specialist business expertise to commit illegal activities; they act rationally; and they adopt forms of organizational structure. This analysis may be useful in identifying future strategies of action against new organized economic crime. Some suggestions regarding investigating economic crime include: do not attempt to identify economic crime based on the traditional organizational structures employed by Mafia-type organizations; do not look for traditional hierarchical structures; and use the best technologies to prevent and control economic crime. References