Cyber crimes are illegal activities in which conventional criminal conduct is expanded in scope or reach via the use of information and communication technology. Thus, factors associated with cyber crime entail child sexual offenses, gender discrimination, internet abuse, surveillance, theft of resources or intellectual property, and online bullying. Cyber financial crimes, as a category of cyber attacks, are considered to be significantly dangerous since this offense type can directly impact the economic activity and financial situation of an individual or an organization.
Introduction to a Crime
Firstly, it is obligatory to discuss the main notions regarding the basic definition of a general crime. A crime is considered to be an action that is performed against the word of the law, or an omission that is made against the letter of the law. A crime is generally an illegal conduct that is sanctioned by the state or another legal entity. Although legislative definitions can be established for specific reasons, there is no unambiguous, widely recognized meaning of the word crime in contemporary criminal law. The most common perspective is that crime is a classification that the law has established; in other terms, something is qualified as criminal if the appropriate and relevant law declares to be such (Felson & Eckert, 2018). According to one suggested interpretation, a crime or misdemeanor is an occurrence that is illegal and punished by law that is detrimental to a group, society, or nation in addition to some specific individual (Felson & Eckert, 2018). Thus, various versions of what a crime is can be present; however, the key aspects of all the variants remain identical.
In fact, it can be stated that the features of the terminology of crime and criminal activity can be illustrated by the differences in regional or national policies and regulations. Each applicable jurisdiction’s criminal legislation specifies the intricacies of what constitutes a criminal offense. While countries can possess what is known as the criminal code, which is a list of offenses, certain common law countries can be missing such a complete legislation due to their internal judicial peculiarities (Felson & Eckert, 2018). Although all crimes are against the law, not all legal infractions are necessarily recognized as crimes (Felson & Eckert, 2018). Private law violations, such as tort law and contract violations, can be pursued through civil proceedings but are not invariably subject to state penalty.
Any illegal behavior involving a computer, an online medium, or a network can be commonly referred to as cybercrime. While the majority of cybercrimes and cyberattacks are committed to obtain economic gain for the perpetrators, others are committed against specific systems or gadgets in order to harm or deactivate them (Bossler & Berenblum, 2019). When private information is acquired or made public, whether legally or illegally, there are several privacy issues that underlie cybercrime (Bossler & Berenblum, 2019). International cybercrimes, such as money theft, surveillance, and other cross-border felonies, are conducted by both state-sponsored and non-state groups (Bossler & Berenblum, 2019). Cyberwarfare is the term occasionally used to describe cybercrimes that occur beyond national boundaries and include at minimum one nation-state.
At the same time, it is compulsory to highlight a specific segment of cybercrimes that is known as cyber financial crimes. The numerous types of cybercrimes, including the financial ones, encompass cyber-trespass, cyber-deception or misappropriation, digital fraud, and cyber-violence (Bossler & Berenblum, 2019). Currently, since the society lives in an electronic era, in which electronic commerce techniques are widely utilized, cyber financial crimes, which can incorporate financial fraud, cyber-violence, cyber-deception, or cyber-trespass, impose serious threats on people’s security.
Cyber Financial Crimes and Their Evolvement
Considering the discussion on how cyber financial crimes have evolved over the last several decades as technology has improved, it is possible to emphasize the increased risk of cyberattacks due to digital innovations providing accessibility. Economic fraud and financial crime are capable of actively adjusting to changes in the fields they depend on (Grody, 2020). Financial institutions have been transformed, increasingly automated and digitally sophisticated as a result, making these types offenses more impersonal. Approximately 200 cyberattacks on financial institutions, banking industries and commercial marketplaces have been documented since 2007 in the financial cybercrimes chronology (Grody, 2020). These concrete occurrences can be sorted by nation, area, year, attribution, event type, and perpetrator type. The financial sector presently faces greater cybersecurity threats, in particular due to the deteriorating cyber threat environment (Grody, 2020). In fact, frequent, complex, and damaging cyberattacks can be sponsored by authorities and, in this case, they are targeted at financial institutions.
Due to numerous cyber financial crimes and cyberattacks during a substantial amount of time, financial agencies and public security authorities recognized the necessity of elaborating methodologies for combating the issue of cyber crimes. Since 1980s, legislators paid increased attention to the issue of computer crime as corporations became more reliant on digitalization and as trigger event instances revealed serious vulnerabilities for computer crime offenses (Grody, 2020). A number of factors have caused the cost of financial criminality and deception risk to rise faster than anticipated. Highlighting financial fraud, organizations are disregarding losses in concrete areas, for instance, customer and user experience, profitability, brand image, and additionally compliance management as a result of their intense emphasis on lowering expenses and liabilities (Grody, 2020). The pressure is considered to be on major institutions that have to coordinate measures against financial crime, deception, and cyberattacks. Three types of measures can be included in cyber financial crime concerns: detecting and validating the client, monitoring and spotting transactional and behavioral irregularities, and reacting to risks and problems.
Current State of Cyber Financial Crimes
In terms of the current state of cyber financial crimes, it is possible to note that agencies and organizations presently tend to focus on elaborating and implementing globalized and standardized methods on tackling cyber crime. Policymakers and financial companies should empower the financial sector to concentrate on major system upgrades in order to mitigate present and potential risks to the cyberinfrastructure (Grody, 2020). Authorities collaborate with the participants in the financial sector to implement various practical cyber risk control strategies in order to standardize the gathering and monitoring processes of cyber-risk occurrences (Grody, 2020). Hence, currently, given the trends in cyber financial crimes due to technological progress and advancements, those in the positions of authority attempt to develop and consolidate approaches to avoid cyber crime.
Referring to the discussion on the investigation and prosecution of offenders of financial cyber crime and financial fraud, it is feasible to state that special agencies exist that can work directly with individuals and firms. The primary objective of these firms that deal with cyber crimes involving financial resources is to identify the offender and endeavor to reach a mutually agreeable solution (King, 2020). In this situation, company executives, business owners, and individuals frequently do not accept the recommendation of immediately seeking help from law enforcement authorities and officials due to personal reasons or decreased level of trust. Moreover, the problem of bureaucracy regarding financial investigations, especially in the field of information and communication technologies, can potentially provoke additional hesitation among the victims. Hence, the role of non-governmental consultancy and personal assistance agencies in tackling cyberattacks and financial cyber crimes is essential due to the notion that companies can prefer this type of guidance.
Financial fraud and cyber crime investigation organizations can provide step-by-step approaches to documenting the losses, eliciting the accountable individual or group, and identifying further security measures. A financial investigator can communicate with the customer before beginning a cyber crime investigation to assess the problem and ascertain what support is required (King, 2020). The planned investigation’s subject, expected cost, and timetable can be listed in a retainer contract. Therefore, the inquiry can start if the customer gives their consent and pays the fee. The investigating team, which is headed by a certified fraud analyst, will first evaluate whether there is actual proof of financial crime.
The investigation group should concentrate efforts on conclusively determining the parties accountable after the nature and scope of the plan are uncovered and the primary parts of the monetary picture are revealed. The results of the fraud investigation can be integrated using the assistance of legal counsel, police forces, law enforcement and governmental authorities if the guilty parties reject to repay the client’s resources (King, 2020). Since it offers a clear road map for intricate schemes, the specialist inquiry report develops into a crucial instrument for civil litigation procedures and further prosecution.
Considering the aspects of prosecution of offenders of financial cyber crime, it is possible to emphasize there are increased initiatives being made at both the national and international levels to avoid and sanction cybercrime. The underlined long-term effective solution, in fact, is activity by subjective and separate territorial states and formations, which must be given priority (Arnell & Faturoti, 2022). There has been strong opposition to the prosecution of global cybercrime and, in specific, to its normalization (Arnell & Faturoti, 2022). Human rights, procedural abuse, intricacy, expense, the pursuit of justice, and the goals of criminalization all work against its application, as do the fundamental principles of both domestic and international legislation (Arnell & Faturoti, 2022). Governments that are impacted by transnational cybercrime and fraud should actively work to help that nation by sharing information, expertise, and supporting evidence (Arnell & Faturoti, 2022). In addition, states should take action against cybercriminals living within their borders, irrespective of where the victims of their crimes are located. Consequently, in terms of financial cyber crime prosecution, it is necessary to possess technical, evidentiary, legal, and financial support as well as jurisdictional compliance.
Conclusion
To summarize, digitalization is being increasingly accepted and used as a result of the quick development of the electronic and digital domains in both the corporate and public sectors. As a consequence, as technological improvements give consumers more accessibility and greater opportunities, criminals and dishonest people take advantage of the chance to withdraw money illegally. Organizations that investigate financial fraud and cyber crime can offer step-by-step procedures for establishing further security measures, tracking losses, and identifying the person or group responsible. Cybertrespass, cyber deception or misappropriation, digital fraud, and cyberviolence are a few of the multiple sorts of cybercrimes, including the financial ones. Financial institutions and public security authorities recognized the need for developing approaches for addressing the issue of cybercrimes due to the prevalence of cyber financial crimes and cyberattacks over an extended period of time.
References
Arnell, P., & Faturoti, B. (2022). The prosecution of cybercrime–why transnational and extraterritorial jurisdiction should be resisted. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 1-23.
Bossler, A. M., & Berenblum, T. (2019). Introduction: New directions in cybercrime research. Journal of Crime and Justice, 42(5), 495-499.
Felson, M., & Eckert, M. A. (2018). Crime and everyday life: A brief introduction. Sage Publications.
Grody, A. D. (2020). Addressing cyber risk in financial institutions and in the financial system. Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, 13(2), 155-162. Web.
King, M. (2020). Financial fraud investigative interviewing–corporate investigators’ beliefs and practices: A qualitative inquiry. Journal of Financial Crime, 28(2), 345-358.