Abstract
Online fraud continues to be one of the most challenging forms of cybercrime. It is an extremely varied species of crime, with multiple examples and definitions. The prevalence of online fraud is so vast that law enforcement and financial bodies can quickly become swamped. The EU recognises the threat that online fraud poses to the Union and has passed a new Directive that seeks to tackle online fraud. However, the Directive misses many forms of online fraud, potentially leaving citizens of Europe vulnerable to online fraud.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Gillespie [12], p. 155.
Sandwell [18], p. 46.
Stabek [19], pp. 44–45.
Wall [23].
FBI [11], p. 19.
Aniello [1], p. 42.
Synder [20], p. 457.
Kieffer [15].
Whitty [25], p. 181.
Whitty [24].
Buchanan [2], p. 261.
Buchanan [2], p. 279.
Holt [13], p. 137.
Holt [13], p. 149.
Gillespie [12], p. 159.
Cross [6], p. 1.
Cross [7], p. 1.
Whitty [26].
Directive 2019/713 on combating fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment.
Article 18.
ECB [10], p. 7.
The United Kingdom is constituted of four countries, with three different legal systems (England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland). Crimes are recorded separately in each jurisdiction.
Overview of fraud and computer misuse statistics for England and Wales (ONS, 2018). Available online at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/overviewoffraudandcomputermisusestatisticsforenglandandwales/2018-01-25. (Accessed June 2019).
UK Finance [21], p. 13.
UK Finance [21], p. 29.
UK Finance [21], p. 31.
UK Finance [21], p. 33.
ECB [10], p. 7.
Dean [9].
FBI [11], p. 20.
Yar [28].
Pratt [16], p. 267.
Van Wilsem [22], p. 170.
Button [3], p. 403.
Whitty [27].
Whitty [27], p. 106.
Cross [7], p. 5.
See, for example, Cross [8].
Cross [8], p. 191.
Cross [8], p. 193.
Cross [8], p. 198.
Buchanan [2], p. 279.
Gillespie [12], p. 162.
Rege [17], p. 494.
ETS No 185. Budapest 23.xi.2001.
‘T-CY Guidance Note #4: Identity theft and phishing in relation to fraud’ T-CY (2013)8E Rev.
Ibid., 4–5.
2001/413/JHA. OJ L 149, 02.06.2001.
Directive (EU) 2019/713. OJ L 123/18. 10.5.2019.
Recital (3).
The United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark are not bound by the Directive under the terms of Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol 21 of the TEU and TFEU (see recital (38) and (39) OJ L 123/23).
Article 1 of Directive 2019/713.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/pol/activ/instr/html/index.en.html. (Accessed 20.6.19).
Gillespie [12], pp. 44–48.
Directive 2013/40/EU, Articles 3–6.
For a real-life example, see https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/14/lost-67000-conveyancing-scam-friday-afternoon-fraud-legal-sector-email-hacker. (Accessed 22 June 2019).
Karlof [14].
For a discussion see Gillespie [12], Chap. 11.
OJ L123/19. 10.5.2019.
Chang [4].
Gillespie [12], p. 314.
Article 9 of the Directive. This follows the usual process whereby States are told that the maximum sentence can be no less than that specified within the Directive. Member States can, of course, decide to set a higher punishment.
Cross [6], pp. 6–8.
Cross [5].
References
Aniello, S., Caneppele, S.: Selling stolen goods on the online markets: an explorative study. In: Global Crime, vol. 19, pp. 42–62 (2018)
Buchanan, T., Whitty, M.T.: The online dating romance scam: causes and consequences of victimhood. Psychol. Crime Law 20, 261–283 (2014)
Button, M., Nicholls, C.M., Kerr, J., Owen, R.: Online frauds: learning from victims why they fall for these scams. Aust. N. Z. J. Criminol. 47, 391–408 (2014)
Chang, J.J.S.: An analysis of advance fee fraud on the internet. J. Financ. Crime 15, 71–81 (2008)
Cross, C.: Banks can’t fight online credit card fraud alone, and neither can you. The conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/banks-cant-fight-online-credit-card-fraud-alone-and-neither-can-you-82088. Accessed 1 July 2019
Cross, C.: Expectations vs reality: responding to online fraud across the fraud justice network. Int. J. Law Crime Justice 55, 1–12 (2018)
Cross, C., Kelly, R., Smith, R.G.: The reporting experiences and support needs of victims of online fraud. Trends Issues Crime Crim. Justice 518, 1–14 (2016)
Cross, C.: No laughing matter: blaming the victim of online fraud. Int. Rev. Vict. 21, 187–204 (2015)
Dean, B.: Hard evidence: how much is cybercrime really costing us? The conversation. Available at: http://theconversation.com/hard-evidence-how-much-is-cybercrime-really-costing-us-34473. Accessed 9 June 2019
ECB: Fifth Report on Card Fraud. European Central Bank, Brussels (2018)
FBI: Internet Crime Report 2018. Department of Justice, Washington (2018)
Gillespie, A.A.: Cybercrime: Key Issues and Debates 2nd edn. Routledge, London (2019)
Holt, T.J., Graves, D.C.: A qualitative analysis of advance fee fraud e-mail schemes. Int. J. Cyber Criminol. 1, 137–154 (2007)
Karlof, C., Shanker, U., Tygar, J.D., Wagner, D.: Dynamic pharming attacks and locked same-origin policies for web browsers. In: Proceedings of the 14th ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, pp. 58–71 (2007)
Kieffer, C., Mottola, G.: Understanding and combating investment fraud. In: Mitchell, O.S., Brett Hamond, P., Utkus, S.P. (eds.) Financial Decision Making and Retirement Security in an Aging World. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2017)
Pratt, T.C., Holtfreter, K., Reisig, M.D.: Routine online activity and Internet fraud targeting: extending the generality of routine activity theory. J. Res. Crime Delinq. 47, 267–296 (2010)
Rege, A.: What’s love got to do with it? Exploring online dating scams and identity fraud. Int. J. Cyber Criminol. 3, 494–512 (2009)
Sandwell, B.: On the globalisation of crime: the internet and new criminality. In: Jewkes, Y., Yar, M. (eds.) Handbook of Internet Crime. Routledge, London (2010)
Stabek, A., Watters, P., Layton, R.: The seven scam types: mapping the terrain of cybercrime. In: Second Cybercrime and Trustworthy Computing Workshop, IEEE 2010 (2010)
Synder, J.M.: Online auction fraud: are the auction houses doing all they should or could to stop online fraud? Fed. Commun. Law J. 52, 453–472 (2000)
UK Finance: Fraud the Facts 2018. Available at: https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/policy-and-guidance/reports-publications/fraud-facts-2018. Accessed 1 July 2019
Van Wilsem, J.: ‘Bought it, but never got it’: assessing risk factors for online consumer fraud victimization. Eur. Sociol. Rev. 29, 168–178 (2011)
Wall, D.: Cybercrime: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age. Polity, Cambridge (2007)
Whitty, M.T.: Anatomy of the online dating romance scam. Secur. J. 28, 443–455 (2015)
Whitty, M.T., Buchanan, T.: The online romance scam: a serious cybercrime. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 15, 181–183 (2012)
Whitty, M.T., Buchanan, T.: The online dating romance scam: the psychological impact on victims–both financial and non-financial. Criminol. Crim. Justice 16, 176–194 (2016)
Whitty, T.M.: Do you love me? Psychological characteristics of romance scam victims. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 21, 105–109 (2018)
Yar, M., Steinmetz, K.F.: Cybercrime and Society, 3rd edn. Sage, London (2019)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Alisdair A. Gillespie, Professor of Criminal Law and Justice, Lancaster University.
Samantha Magor, Research Assistant, Lancaster University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gillespie, A.A., Magor, S. Tackling online fraud. ERA Forum 20, 439–454 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-019-00580-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-019-00580-y