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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:46 pm
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Results for consumer protection
21 results foundAuthor: Australia. Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council Title: Ticket Scalping: Ticket Onselling and Consumers Summary: The Issues Paper examines current practices relating to ticket onselling and considers possible market responses, including both regulatory and non-regulatory options, and their cost and effectiveness. Details: Barton, ACT, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia, 2010. 29p. Source: Internet Resource; Issues Paper Year: 2010 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119528 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionTicket Scalping |
Author: Ellison, Anna Title: Interim Evaluation of the National Illegal Money Lending Projects Summary: This report presents the findings and evidence from a review of the effectiveness of the illegal money lending national project that started in 2007. The project set out to address the illegal money lending which is common in deprived estates and which entrenches poverty and disadvantage. The review assesses the effectiveness of teams and delivery models in meeting both enforcement and financial inclusion objectives, and the aggregate impact of the national project. It identifies replicable best practice, assesses the wider economic and social benefits, to inform the development of future policy approaches in this area. Details: London: UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2010. 105p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 25, 2010 at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/consumer-issues/docs/i/10-1186-interim-evaluation-illegal-money-lending Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/consumer-issues/docs/i/10-1186-interim-evaluation-illegal-money-lending Shelf Number: 120065 Keywords: Business CrimeConsumer ProtectionFinancial Crimes |
Author: Budd, Carolyn Title: Consumer Fraud in Australasia: Results of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce Online Australia Surveys 2008 and 2009. Summary: Those who perpetrate consumer scams use a wide range of deceptive practices and methods of communication. However, all aim to trick unsuspecting consumers into parting with money or information, often to criminals located overseas. Phishing attacks, lottery and prize scams, financial investment scams and advanced fee fraud are just a few of the more common scam varieties that are used in an attempt to gain either money or personal details that will eventually be used for financial gain by offenders. The increased use of electronic forms of communication and the ease of sending mass scam invitations via the Internet has also resulted in an increase in the number of scam requests disseminated globally. Scam invitations may appear benign to those who receive them and choose not to respond. This form of spam may be seen as an unfortunate consequence of using the Internet, however, scams can cause serious financial and other harms to those who are victimised, as well as to the wider community. Consumer fraud has been estimated to cost Australia almost $1b annually, although the full extent of the losses is unknown as many choose not to report their experiences officially. Although victims of scams can lose as little as $1, some send substantial amounts to criminals, occasionally exceeding many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those who send such large amounts frequently feel ashamed of what they have done, or apprehensive that they might have acted illegally. Victims may also receive little sympathy for having being victimised and may be blamed for being gullible. These factors act to deter victims from formally reporting the scam to police. When the full circumstances of cases are known, however, the sophistication of the deception makes it clear that victims have been enticed by a serious and concerted campaign of trickery which preys on their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT) includes 20 government regulatory agencies and departments in Australia and New Zealand that work alongside private sector, community and non-government partners to prevent fraud. In order to understand the dynamics of consumer fraud victimisation, the ACFT has conducted a range of fraud prevention and awareness-raising activities since 2006. One key activity of the ACFT is to hold an annual consumer fraud survey to obtain a snapshot of the public’s exposure to consumer scams, to assess their impact, to determine how victims respond and to identify any emerging typologies and issues. This report presents the results of surveys conducted in conjunction with the 2008 campaign that focused on Seduction and Deception Scams and the 2009 campaign that focused on sending the message— Scams Target You: Protect Yourself, Don’t Be a Victim of Scammers and Fight the Scammers. Don’t Respond. Overall, both surveys found that despite most respondents indicating that they had received a scam invitation over the specified 12 month period, the majority did not respond. Invitations sent by email remained the most common method of receiving an invitation, with lottery scams attracting the highest number of victims in 2008 whereas in 2009, work from home scams were the most common way respondents were scammed. Although the survey relies on self-reported data, it still provides a useful means of identifying the nature of victimisation and for identifying areas for further research into consumer fraud. The links identified between scam victimisation and factors such as age, income, reporting and jurisdiction could be used to develop more strategic consumer fraud awareness campaigns that focus on the groups more vulnerable to scam victimisation. The relationships between these variables and victimisation could then be explored more fully using representative samples of the population, or in-depth data collection techniques such as interviewing of those who have been defrauded. With a more extensive understanding of who is victimised and why, more effective scam prevention measures can be enacted. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2011. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Technical and Background Paper No. 43: Accessed March 10, 2011 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/41-60/tbp043.aspx Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/41-60/tbp043.aspx Shelf Number: 120967 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionFinancial CrimesInternet CrimesScams |
Author: Bartels, Lorana Title: Sentencing Scammers: Law and Practice Summary: Consumer fraud costs Australians almost $1b a year and most of this fraud involves scams in which individuals are persuaded to part with an upfront, or advance, fee, with the promise of large financial or other gain in the future. In this paper, consideration is given to the sentencing issues that apply in cases of this nature. In particular, the author examines the application of the key sentencing purposes, such as deterrence and rehabilitation, and the sentencing principles applied by courts, such as the proportionality principle, and the challenges that may arise in this context. Key sentencing factors often cited in aggravation or mitigation are also reviewed, before an examination of some of the issues relating to specific sentencing options is undertaken. This paper goes some way in providing a brief analysis of sentencing practices. However, further research is required to better explore how sentencers respond to consumer fraud matters. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2012. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 443: Accessed September 10, 2012 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/en/publications/current%20series/tandi/441-460/tandi443.aspx Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/en/publications/current%20series/tandi/441-460/tandi443.aspx Shelf Number: 126283 Keywords: Consumer Fraud (Australia)Consumer ProtectionDeterrenceFinancial CrimesSentencing |
Author: Jorna, Penny Title: Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce: Results of the 2012 online consumer fraud survey Summary: The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT) comprises 22 government regulatory agencies and departments in Australia and New Zealand that work alongside private sector, community and non-government partners to prevent fraud. The ACFT has conducted a range of fraud prevention and awareness-raising activities since 2006. One key activity of the ACFT is to hold an annual consumer fraud survey to obtain a snapshot of the public’s exposure to consumer scams, to assess their impact, to determine how victims respond and to identify emerging typologies and issues. As the survey participants were not randomly sampled, the survey findings are not representative of the general population. The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is a member of the ACFT and chair of the research sub-group. This report presents the results of the 2012 survey, which ran for three months commencing from 1 January 2012. This period encompassed National Fraud Prevention Week, which coincides with global awareness-raising activities. The theme of the 2012 campaign was Slam Scams! This theme aimed to raise awareness about scam delivery methods so that scams could be identified at the point of contact. The survey explored scams where respondents were contacted by phone, short message service (SMS), email, letter, via the internet and/or in person by someone who they did not know in relation to: having won a lottery or some other prize (lottery scams); a request for assistance to transfer money out of another country (such as Nigeria) (advance fee frauds); a notification of an inheritance (inheritance scams); a request by a business to confirm personal details or passwords (phishing scams); a request to supply financial advice (financial advice scams); an opportunity to work from home (a front for money laundering) (work from home scams); pursuing a personal relationship that turned out to be false (dating scams); a person representing themselves as someone from a computer support centre (computer support scams); and other fraud types. The survey was made available for completion on the AIC’s website. Participants who did not reside in Australia or New Zealand were excluded from the survey, as were invalid responses. In 2012, 1,576 participants completed the survey. Outliers, typically very large loss figures from respondents who appeared to have misunderstood the question, were removed from the analysis. The 2012 survey suffered from a number of limitations that made it difficult to generalise its findings to the greater Australasian population, in particular the self-selection bias of the survey design. As the sample was not randomly selected, those who participated in the survey may be different from the general population. Details: Sydney: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2013. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Technical and background paper series no.56: Accessed June 25, 2013 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/41-60/tbp056.html Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/41-60/tbp056.html Shelf Number: 129155 Keywords: Consumer Fraud (Australia)Consumer ProtectionFinancial Crimes |
Author: Lobel, Orly Title: Linking Prevention, Detection, and Whistle-Blowing: Principles for Designing Effective Reporting Systems Summary: This invited essay for a symposium dedicated to whistle-blowing research offers an overview of recent experimental and empirical research on social reporting and whistle-blowing behavior. Whistle-blowing laws serve a dual purpose. They serve both to instill ethical norms of behavior to prevent misconduct from occurring and to detect ongoing organizational corruption. The design of sound processes for reporting wrongdoing signals the significance that the organization and society attribute to compliance and ethical conduct. At the same time, whistle-blowing laws directly add to the texture of incentives and motivations of individuals in their decision about whether to blow the whistle. In recent years, there is a growing number of empirical and experimental research about ethical behavior and social enforcement. This article aims to illuminate what we know about the design of whistle-blowing protections, individual incentives, and effective reporting channels; and to suggest ways in which policy can benefit from the increasing depth in the social science research. Details: San Diego, CA: University of San Diego School of Law, 2013. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 13-123 ; Accessed July 16, 2013 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2281423 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2281423 Shelf Number: 129400 Keywords: Business CorruptionConsumer ProtectionWhistleblowing |
Author: Cohen, Mark A. Title: Willingness to Pay to Reduce White Collar and Corporate Crime Summary: Consumer protection and financial regulatory agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regulate various types of consumer, investor and financial frauds. Whether required or not, rulemaking proceedings oftentimes include some form of cost-benefit analysis. Thus, the benefits of proposed regulations - whether fully quantified or not - are an increasingly important component of rulemaking decisions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the impact on victims in some cases include significant time and financial hardships and even pain, suffering and reduced quality of life. Further, the existence of these offenses causes non-victims to take costly precautionary behavior and might even inhibit legitimate business activities. Yet, little is known about the true costs of consumer and financial crimes other than the out-of-pocket monetary losses incurred by victims. To the extent society wishes to optimally deter such crimes, without better data on nonmonetary costs, any cost-benefit analyses of criminal justice or prevention programs designed to reduce these crimes will inevitably underestimate program benefits. This paper provides an initial framework and empirical estimates of the willingness-to-pay to reduce four types of white collar and corporate offenses - consumer fraud, financial fraud, corporate crime and corporate financial crime. Utilizing a contingent valuation survey approached that has been used to estimate the cost of street crimes, the average willingness to pay for a 10% reduction in each of these four offenses is estimated to range between $70 and $75 per household. In the case of consumer fraud and financial fraud - where estimates of prevalence are available, this translates into a willingness to pay of $2,700 per consumer fraud and $21,000 for financial fraud. In contrast, the out-of-pocket costs to victims of consumer fraud have been estimated to average about $100, and about $200 to $250 for various types of financial frauds. These figures also compare favorably to the willingness to pay for a reduced household burglary of $18,000. Details: Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, 2014. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Vanderbilt University - Owen Graduate School of Management; Vanderbilt University - Law School; Resources for the Future: Accessed September 12, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2486220 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2486220 Shelf Number: 133299 Keywords: Consumer Fraud (U.S.)Consumer ProtectionCorporate CrimeFinancial CrimesFinancial FraudWhite-Collar Crime |
Author: Cheney, Julia Title: Identity Theft as a Teachable Moment Summary: This paper examines how instances of identity theft that are sufficiently severe to induce consumers to place an extended fraud alert in their credit reports affect their risk scores, delinquencies, and other credit bureau variables on impact and thereafter. We show that for many consumers these effects are relatively small and transitory. However, for a significant number of consumers, especially those with lower risk scores prior to the event, there are more persistent and generally positive effects on credit bureau variables, including risk scores. We argue that these positive changes for subprime consumers are consistent with the effect of increased salience of credit file information to the consumer at the time of the identity theft. Details: Philadelphia: Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 2014. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 14-28: Accessed October 1, 2014 at: http://www.phil.frb.org/research-and-data/publications/working-papers/2014/wp14-28.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.phil.frb.org/research-and-data/publications/working-papers/2014/wp14-28.pdf Shelf Number: 133523 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionCredit Car FraudIdentity Theft (U.S.) |
Author: Jorna, Penny Title: Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce: results of the 2013 online consumer fraud survey Summary: Since 2007, the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has collected information on consumer scams by conducting an online survey of Australians who have received scam invitations during the preceding 12 months. The research is conducted on behalf of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT), which comprises 22 government regulatory agencies and departments in Australia and New Zealand.The annual survey seeks to obtain a snapshot of the public's exposure to consumer scams, to assess the range of ways in which scams can affect victims and their families, to determine how victims respond and to identify emerging typologies, and look at issues that could be used to inform fraud prevention initiatives. As in previous years, a high proportion of respondents to the survey had received a scam invitation (97%), with just over a third of the respondents responding to the scam invitation in some way. Last year, four percent of respondents reported having lost money to a scam, with the median amount of money reported as being lost per incident was $2,150-just over $1,110,000 lost in total. Fraudulent lottery and prizes wins were the most prevalent scam type experienced by respondents in 2013. While email remained the most commonly used method by which scams were delivered, consistent with previous years, scams delivered via landline and mobile telephones continued to increase. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015 76p. Source: Internet Resource: AIC Reports, Technical and Background Paper 58: Accessed February 26, 2015 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tbp/tbp058/tbp058.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tbp/tbp058/tbp058.pdf2015. 76p. Shelf Number: 134678 Keywords: Consumer Fraud (Australia)Consumer ProtectionFinancial Crimes |
Author: Cho, Soo-Haeng Title: Combating Strategic Counterfeiters in Licit and Illicit Supply Chains Summary: Counterfeit goods are becoming more sophisticated, from shoes to infant milk powder to aircraft parts, creating problems for consumers, firms, and governments. By comparing two types of counterfeiters-deceptive, so infiltrating a licit (but complicit) distributor, or nondeceptive in an illicit channel-we provide insights into the impact of anticounterfeiting strategies on a brand-name company, a counterfeiter, and consumers. Our analysis highlights that the effectiveness of these strategies depends critically on whether a brand-name company faces a nondeceptive or deceptive counterfeiter. For example, by improving quality, the brand-name company can improve her expected profit against a nondeceptive counterfeiter when the counterfeiter steals an insignificant amount of brand value. However, the same strategy does not work well against the deceptive counterfeiter unless high quality facilitates the seizure of deceptive counterfeits significantly. Similarly, reducing price works well in combating the nondeceptive counterfeiter, but it could be ineffective against the deceptive counterfeiter. Moreover, the strategies that improve the profit of the brand-name company may benefit the counterfeiter inadvertently and even hurt consumer welfare. Therefore, firms and governments should carefully consider a trade-off among different objectives in implementing an anticounterfeiting strategy. Details: Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business, 2014. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 16, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1525743 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1525743 Shelf Number: 135682 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionCounterfeit ProductsCounterfeitingSupply Chains |
Author: Europol Title: 2015 Situation Report on Counterfeiting in the European Union Summary: Although the majority of counterfeit products in circulation in Europe are manufactured outside the EU - and evade detection at the EU's external borders - research for the report highlights how domestic EU production is on the rise with cases originating in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK. This large-scale domestic production of counterfeit goods in the EU is becoming an increasingly profitable business for organised crime groups and organisations. Counterfeiters, who operate with significantly lower risks, have been found to have links with other forms of crime such as trafficking in human beings - notably for labour exploitation - as well as with other criminal groups, originating from different countries in and outside Europe. The most significant enabler for distributing these counterfeit goods is the Internet. Consumers are drawn to e-commerce sites due to their prices, 24/7 availability and direct delivery. Some websites are of such high quality that they rival those of the rights holder. Counterfeiters are able to function across multiple jurisdictions, evading capture, and are also able to take down and set up new websites overnight without losing their customer base. The report explores how Chinese organised criminal groups involved in distributing counterfeit goods are highly mobile, specialised teams. Those operating in Italy are known to have close relationships with the Camorra and collaborate to import counterfeit goods. Chinese diaspora communities across Europe are extensive and there is a concentration of Chinese counterfeit businesses in several Italian provinces that are all associated with the textile and fashion industries. Parts of Madrid and its suburbs have also been infiltrated by Chinese organised crime groups. These criminal groups operate across Europe and use legitimate businesses to facilitate the movement of counterfeit products. They have also established and developed collusive relationships with a network of money transfer agencies, enabling them to launder and send large amounts of money to China. After China, India is the next priority concern due to its impact on the EU through counterfeit pharmaceutical products; Turkey for foodstuffs; Indonesia for weak legislation and corruption issues; and the Philippines for low rates of enforcement. Details: The Hague: Europol, 2015. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 20, 2015 at: https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/2015-situation-report-counterfeiting-european-union Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/2015-situation-report-counterfeiting-european-union Shelf Number: 135731 Keywords: Consumer ProtectionCounterfeit GoodsCounterfeitingOrganized Crime |
Author: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Title: Report and Recommendations: Fighting Elder Financial Exploitation through Community Networks Summary: Elder financial exploitation destroys the financial security of millions of older Americans annually. In response to this crisis, hundreds of communities across the United States have created collaborative networks to protect their older residents. To increase our understanding of how elder financial protection networks can grow and endure, the CFPB conducted research nationwide. This report highlights what elder financial exploitation prevention and response networks do, how they work, how they can work better, and how they can be established. The report presents CFPB's recommendations to existing networks and key stakeholders to develop and enhance their community's collaborative efforts to fight financial exploitation. Accompanying this report is a Resource Guide with promising practices, sample documents, and resource materials. Details: Washington, DC: CFPB, 2016. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 30, 2016 at: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/report-and-recommendations-fighting-elder-financial-exploitation-through-community-networks/ Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/report-and-recommendations-fighting-elder-financial-exploitation-through-community-networks/ Shelf Number: 140079 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionElder AbuseFinancial AbuseFinancial Exploitation |
Author: Jorna, Penny Title: Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce: Results of the 2014 online consumer fraud survey Summary: The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT) is a group of 22 government regulatory agencies and departments in Australia and New Zealand. It works with private sector, community and non-government partners to prevent fraud. The ACFT has run a range of fraud prevention and awareness-raising activities since 2005. One of its key initiatives is to run an annual consumer fraud survey to take a snapshot of the public's exposure to consumer fraud and fraudulent invitations, to assess their impact, determine how victims respond, and identify emerging typologies and issues. The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), as a taskforce member and chair of its research subgroup, hosts the survey on behalf of the ACFT. It should be noted that the survey participants were not randomly sampled and so survey findings are not representative of the general population. This report presents the results of the 2014 survey, which ran for six months from 1 January 2014. This period encompassed National Fraud Prevention week, which coincides with global fraud awareness-raising activities. The theme of the 2014 campaign was Know who you're dealing with, and it was aimed at raising awareness about relationship scams by asking people to think twice before transferring money to people they did not know personally. Details: Sydney: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2016. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 21, 2016 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rr/001/rr001.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rr/001/rr001.pdf Shelf Number: 145574 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionFinancial Crimes |
Author: Grocery Manufacturers Association Title: Consumer Product Fraud: Deterrence and Detection Summary: n recent years, more than 150 instances of food and consumer product fraud have been documented at a projected cost to the food industry of $10 to 15 billon per year, plus human pain and suffering, and loss of consumer confidence. Food and consumer product fraud, or economic adulteration and counterfeiting, is increasingly a critical problem for the food and consumer products industries. As a result, The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) Science and Education Foundation engaged A.T. Kearney to conduct the first comprehensive assessment of the problem. The research report, Consumer Product Fraud: Deterrence and Detection, demonstrates that the industry needs to find ways to collaborate to address this problem on a global basis. A better understanding of the problem and its impact begins with mapping categories of adulteration and counterfeiting, and analyzing significant examples. Details: Washington, DC: GMA, 2010. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 11, 2016 at: http://www.gmaonline.org/downloads/research-and-reports/consumerproductfraud.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.gmaonline.org/downloads/research-and-reports/consumerproductfraud.pdf Shelf Number: 145411 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionCounterfeit Goods |
Author: Blascak, Nathan Title: Identity Theft as a Teachable Moment Summary: This paper examines how a negative shock to the security of personal finances due to severe identity theft changes consumer credit behavior. Using a unique data set of linked consumer credit data and alerts indicating identity theft, we show that the immediate effects of fraud on consumers are typically negative, small, and transitory. After those immediate effects fade, identity theft victims experience persistent, positive changes in credit characteristics, including improved risk scores (indicating lower default risk). We argue that these changes are consistent with increased salience of credit file information to the consumer at the time of severe identity theft. Details: Philadelphia: Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 2016. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: RB of Philadelphia Working Paper No. 16-27 : Accessed November 10, 2016 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2859366 Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2859366 Shelf Number: 146277 Keywords: Consumer ProtectionFraudIdentity Theft |
Author: Jorna, Penny Title: The relationship between age and consumer fraud victimisation Summary: he Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates consumer fraud costs Australians $1.4b per year. Advances in technology allow fraudsters to reach an increasing number of potential victims. Age has long been considered a potential factor in the risk of victimisation; however, it remains unclear which age groups are most vulnerable. This paper examines the relationship between age and the risk of consumer fraud, using the results of online surveys conducted by the AIC on behalf of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce in 2011 and 2012. The surveys found statistically significant relationships between age and how invitations were received; age and frauds resulting in victimisation; and age and those who sent money in response to invitations. Targeted, age-specific awareness-raising campaigns may be an effective means of reducing the risk of consumer fraud. Initiatives that address the risks associated with lifestyle factors such as social networking, online dating and the use of both new and existing technologies may be of particular benefit. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2016. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice, no. 519: Accessed December 6, 2016 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi519.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi519.pdf Shelf Number: 147923 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionFinancial Abuse Financial Exploitation |
Author: Great Britain. National Audit Office Title: Protecting consumers from scams, unfair trading and unsafe goods Summary: The UK consumer protection system has made some progress in the last five years, with some individual bodies making good impacts. The system as a whole, however, has not yet demonstrated that it provides value for money in protecting consumers from modern scams, unfair trading, and unsafe goods according to the National Audit Office. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (the Department) has overall responsibility for consumer policy but does not routinely calculate the total cost of the consumer protection system. The NAO, however, estimates it to have cost £165 million in 2015-16. Local Trading Standards services received an estimated £124 million and Citizens Advice received £18 million, Although there is limited robust data on the overall scale of consumer detriment, the NAO estimates that consumers lost at least £14.8 billion in 2015, of which £4.2 billion is estimated to be hidden and unreported detriment from problems such as mass marketing fraud and counterfeit goods. The Government has created opportunities for a more preventative approach to consumer protection. The Department has ensured better co-ordination across the landscape, in particular by bringing together the consumer protection bodies in the Consumer Protection Partnership, and integrating case management across the system. National Trading Standards, which was set up in 2012 following a previous NAO report, has made a good impact into consumer protection issues, having prevented £345 million worth of detriment to consumers since April 2014, with a cost-benefit ratio of around 12.6 to 1. Funding for this is still, however, small compared with the size of the problem, and annual budgeting prevents proper long-term planning. While the system has made progress at the national level, it is not keeping pace with the growth in online consumer fraud. The UK’s E-commerce market is now the third largest globally, with over a third of non-food retails sales being conducted online. A national e-crime team has been established but Trading Standards has lost e-crime expertise at the local level. Furthermore, the interaction between the consumer protection bodies and other government agencies tackling online consumer fraud is not yet well developed. The majority of law enforcement is carried out by local authority Trading Standards services. While the consumer protection bodies have improved data on consumer threats, significant gaps remain, with some local authorities having no or few intelligence logs. At the same time, Local Trading Standards have become increasingly small, as local authorities have moved funds to other areas. Overall, local Trading Standards have lost 56% of full-time equivalent staff since 2009, with 20 services in England having funding cut by over 60% since 2011. Some services now have only one qualified officer. Despite this lack of funding, Local Trading Standards teams are expected to enforce 263 different pieces of legislation for different government departments with little direction from government on the priority of these. Local Trading Standards teams are being incentivised to prioritise local issues, in particular safeguarding, with few resources available to either undertake enforcement cases or to organise services on national priorities. The changing nature of commerce has meant more consumer issues are occurring at national and international levels, however only 7% of local trading standards teams base their priorities on nationally-advocated ones. The Competition and Markets Authority is also making good impacts in addressing market-wide consumer issues and estimates that its consumer enforcement work generates at least £74 million of direct financial benefits to consumers annually for a cost of £6 million. Details: London: NAO, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 15, 2016 at: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/protecting-consumers-from-scams-unfair-trading-and-unsafe-goods/ Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/protecting-consumers-from-scams-unfair-trading-and-unsafe-goods/ Shelf Number: 140477 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionCounterfeit GoodsScams |
Author: Smith, Russell G. Title: Fraud within the Commonwealth: A census of the most costly incidents 2014. Summary: From financial years 2010-11 to 2014-14, Commonwealth entities experienced 9,467 incidents of internal fraud, with losses of over $12.7m. This study analysed information about the most costly incidents each entity experienced each year and those who perpetrated these. The majority of the 166 frauds related to employee entitlements or financial benefits, and most were committed through the misuse of documents or technology. The findings provide an insight into the fraud risks facing the Commonwealth and how these might best be addressed. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2017. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Statistical Bulletin 02: Accessed March 7, 2017 at: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/sb/002/sb002.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/sb/002/sb002.pdf Shelf Number: 146416 Keywords: Consumer ProtectionCosts of CrimeCrime StatisticsFinancial CrimesFraud |
Author: NetNames Title: Counting the Costs of Counterfeiting: A NetNames Report Summary: Today, the ease and reach of digital commerce presents extraordinary opportunities and serious threats to businesses, brands and consumers alike. The collision of counterfeiting, globalization and the fast-growing digital world has created a perfect storm, allowing the supply and demand for fake goods to converge. EXTRAORDINARY GROWTH In an environment where counterfeiting is as profitable as illegal drugs, but remains far less risky for criminals, we are seeing explosive growth. Expanding by over 15% every year, counterfeiting now costs more than 2% of total global economic output, or around $1.8 trillion per year. There is little doubt as to the crucial role played by the digital world in this meteoric rise, with a 15% increase in sales of counterfeit goods online last year. The internet has made counterfeiting a shifting problem that is difficult to combat. Rogue websites, online auctions and digital piracy all give counterfeiters lucrative and anonymous channels for their activities. PHARMA WORST AFFECTED While counterfeiting is a major challenge for every industry, pharma is the worst affected sector by any metric. Counterfeiters have claimed around a third of the entire market - worth some $200 billion - and are implicated in the deaths of up to one million people each year due to toxic or ineffective drugs. ENTER THE DRAGON: THE ROLE OF CHINA The United States, Europe and Australasia - the largest markets for fake goods - are all attempting to harmonize and intensify their multi-pronged strategy to combat counterfeiting and digital piracy. However, the tidal wave of counterfeit and grey-market goods from China shows little sign of being stemmed, remaining responsible for 70% of worldwide seizures. While global companies depend on Chinese manufacturing, this same ecosystem provides a haven of cheap labor and raw materials for counterfeiters. COST AND CONVENIENCE DRIVE CONSUMERS TO COUNTERFEITS Consumers remain largely innocent victims in this struggle, with 90% seeing counterfeiting as morally wrong. However, the demand for branded goods and the desire to find lower prices online mean that 28 consumers unknowingly buy fake goods for every person that does so intentionally. When consumers do deliberately consume counterfeit and pirated goods, cost and convenience are the major factors in their decision: 19% purchase fake products when the original is too expensive, while 22% will turn to digital piracy when there is no legal alternative. THE HEAVY TOLL ON BRANDS Counterfeiting creates a heavy financial burden for brands – eroding profitability, market share and outside investment. While fake goods destroy around 10% of top-line revenues, they also force brands to make further investments in combatting the problem, and leave them less able to invest in future innovations. Even more insidious are the risks to both brand reputations and customers. Online, reputations can be instantly damaged in front of a global audience: 78% of consumers would shun a brand if they found themselves on a bogus website, even though the company itself was not negligent. Meanwhile, the risks to customers are not just financial, but also physical. G20 countries now see an estimated 3,000 deaths annually due to counterfeit consumer goods alone. NEW TECHNOLOGIES CREATE NEW RISKS Counterfeiters will continue to exploit the potential of new technologies and the digital world to further their reach, profitability and anonymity. The rise of mobile and social is fragmenting the online landscape - exposing brands not just to counterfeiting, but also to evolving threats such as phishing, cybersquatting, traffic diversion and other forms of online fraud. ACTION IS ESSENTIAL New technologies will also be critical to the fight against counterfeiting, with RFID, digital authentication and new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) all allowing brands to strengthen their posture against fraudsters. In particular, given the skyrocketing risks from the combination of digital channels and fake goods, a proactive and effective online anti-counterfeiting strategy is now essential for every brand to safeguard customers, revenues and reputation. Details: London: Digital Citizens Alliance, 2015. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 13, 2017 at: https://www.netnames.com/assets/shared/whitepaper/pdf/NetNames-Counterfeiting-Report-A4-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: https://www.netnames.com/assets/shared/whitepaper/pdf/NetNames-Counterfeiting-Report-A4-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 144902 Keywords: Consumer FraudConsumer ProtectionCosts of CrimeCounterfeit GoodsCounterfeitingFake GoodsFraudOnline Victimization |
Author: Kirkwood-Mazik, Heather L. Title: An Inquiry into the Antecedents of Consumer Purchase of Non-Deceptive Counterfeit Goods: Theory, Practice and Problems Summary: With counterfeit good consumption growing at alarming rates each year, this topic is increasingly demanding attention of marketing academics. This dissertation examines two sets of factors that influence consumer attitude toward counterfeits: sociocultural influences and psychological influences. Based on a review of the literature, two constructs, namely information susceptibility and normative susceptibility are combined to form a group of sociocultural influences expected to influence consumer attitude toward counterfeits. In addition, five constructs are combined to represent psychological influences, namely value consciousness, self-identity, integrity, materialism and perceived risk. Data was collected through a web-based survey and features a cross-sectional design. Utilizing a sample of 228 respondents, confirmatory factor analysis coupled with structural equation modeling was employed to analyze hypothesized relationships. Results suggest the most significant influence on consumer attitude toward counterfeits is integrity; the more integrity held by a consumer, the less favorable their attitude toward counterfeits. In addition, materialism and normative susceptibility were also found to be positively related to consumer attitude toward counterfeits. Consumer attitude toward counterfeits was also shown to have positive significance as a mediating variable between the antecedents and purchase intention. The results of this dissertation suggest that consumers, and their reference groups justify purchasing counterfeit items due to what they believe to be unfair business practices such as charging too much. This research will assist scholars, marketers, and government agencies to understand the implications of counterfeit good consumption and contribute to the development of effective strategies to counter the purchase of non-deceptive counterfeit goods. Details: Cleveland, OH: Cleveland State University, 2014. 204p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 11, 2017 at: http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1163&context=etdarchive Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1163&context=etdarchive Shelf Number: 147219 Keywords: Consumer Goods Consumer Products Consumer ProtectionCounterfeit Good |
Author: Interpol Title: Operation Opson VI: Targeting Counterfeit and Substandard Foodstuff and Beverage: December 2016 - March 2017 Summary: KEY ELEMENTS 65 countries and 20 private partners, from 22 EU Member States (MS) and 43 non-EU countries, participated in Operation OPSON VI. This represents the largest number of participating countries, especially for non EU countries, since the beginning of OPSON in 2011. 57 countries took part in OPSON V. In total, 13,407.60 tonnes, 26,336,305.3 litres and 11,118,832 units of either counterfeit or substandard food and beverages have been seized during the four month operational phase of OPSON VI. The total value of these illicit goods amounts to 235,681,849.87 EUR. Participating countries reported more than 50,128 inspections and checks, and 13,711 persons arrested or investigated. They opened 6,282 administrative and criminal cases. Investigations started in the framework of OPSON VI led to the dismantling of seven organised crime groups, reported as such by the countries and involved in the production of illegal food, other goods smuggling and other criminal activities. In terms of product range, the levels of seizure within OPSON VI differ significantly compared with OPSON V. The highest quantity of seized products is alcohol whereas the first category of seized products in OPSON V was condiments (e.g. vegetable oil, spices, and sauces). Enforcement actions during OPSON VI led to the closure of at least 183 illegal alcohol factories and to the seizures of production materials, ranging from special bottling machines to counterfeit excise stamps, caps, labels or bottle security rings. The second category of seized goods is meat with almost 5,146 tonnes removed from the markets. The reported infringements are, in most cases, related to deceiving consumers (27%, of which 1% are IPR violations), food safety (22%) and fiscal infringements (19%). Besides the seizures of food and beverages, the participating countries reported important seizures of tobacco, coca leaves (in Peru), pharmaceuticals and cannabis (in Djibouti) which were discovered in the course of OPSON VI. The debriefing meeting was hosted by the Irish authorities in Dublin on 2 - 3 October 2017. Details: The Hague: INTERPOL, 2017. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2, 2018 at: https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/operation-opson-vi-targeting-counterfeit-and-substandard-foodstuff-and-beverage Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/operation-opson-vi-targeting-counterfeit-and-substandard-foodstuff-and-beverage Shelf Number: 148974 Keywords: Consumer ProtectionCounterfeit GoodsCounterfeit ProductsOrganized Crime |