WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

White Collar Crimes

White Collar Crimes

White—collar crime is “illegal or unethical acts that violate dL1ciary responsibility or public trust, committed by an individual or organization, usually during the course of legitimate occupational activity, by persons of high or respectable social status for personal or organizational gain" (Schlegel 1994). White Collar crimes can be categorized into, personal Crimes, abuses of trust, business crimes and Con Games (Gottschalk 2010).

In the U.S. several agencies under different powers work for the identification, monitoring and control of white collar crimes. The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) commenced a National Citizens' Crime Prevention Campaign (NCCPC) covering organisations on national, state and federal levels for generating awareness about crime prevention using various mechanisms. Many service advertisements and publications regarding this awareness came in the form of crime prevention literature. In addition to this the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)held a comprehensive survey highlighting victims of telemarketing fraud. A Task Force for Financial Crimes within Southwestern Pennsylvania is also in charge for investigation and prosecution of financial related offences such as internet fraud, split-deposit schemes, identity thefts and takeovers, and split-deposit schemes with particular focus on organized fraudulent acitivities. Furthermore, many of such activities are also monitored by the U.S. Department of Justice that works in collaboration with the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (Bazley 2007). White Collar criminals take use of many modern and traditional techniques, including the postal system. In this regard a U.S. postal inspection is also in place to defraud American public by enforcing many federal laws.

White collar crimes are committed in ways that are difficult, indeed often impossible, to prevent by simply blocking the offender's access to his or her target(Schlegel 1994). White-collar offenders use techniques and take advantage of opportunities that are ...