Do C&IT Facilitate the Wrong Things?

There is a simple view of the role of C&IT (computers and information technology) in the legal academy that states, 'C&IT is just a tool. Use it or abuse it as you will. It has no ideology. It can no more be a bad thing than can a car or a chisel'. It is an additional resource on top of whatever we had before. I want to link that claim to a set of analogous claims about the relationship between law and science and law and mathematics, and subject them to scrutiny. I shall call these claims (that science, mathematics and computers are 'just' tools) collectively the 'neutrality claim'. So far as concerns computers, I shall suggest that C&IT in law has a tendency either towards reaction or towards reductionism in how we understand law in the academy. I will finish by considering an area in which computers have been relatively more successful-chess-and trying to work through the similarities and distinctions.     

关于信用证欺诈例外的若干问题研究

信用证的独立性 (或自主性 )原则是信用证体系赖以生存和发展的根本性原则 ,依据该原则信用证及相关的单据与合同交易是分离的。但是这种机制为受益人从事欺诈行为创造了条件 ,基于此 ,各国逐渐地发展了遏制信用证欺诈的重要制度———信用证欺诈例外。本文拟对欺诈例外的涵义及特征作一分析 ,并就欺诈例外适用中的何谓“欺诈”、欺诈例外适用的排除、开证行应如何应对欺诈例外、欺诈例外与法院禁付令的关系等重要问题进行探讨 ,并在评论我国司法实践中存在的问题的基础上 ,就我国相关法制的完善问题作一思考。     

Hey,you, get off of that cloud?

If the final years of this decade are to be over-shadowed by a ‘credit crunch’ and a global recession, then the IT industry's recent focus on cost and resource efficiency via cloud-computing will increasingly seem pertinent to many businesses. This paper will explore some of the legal and practical risks any business will need to consider in their cloud-computing arrangements.     

New directions in policing fraud: The emergence of the counter fraud specialist in the United Kingdom

Fraud and corruption in the public sector have become issues of increasing importance for the government in the United Kingdom. Numerous initiatives have emerged ranging from high profile publicity campaigns against benefit fraud and tax evasion to the establishment of specialist bodies, such as the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (NHSCFSMS). One of the most interesting developments, however, has been the emergence of the ‘counter fraud specialist (CFS)’ across central and local government, as well as the private sector. These are specially trained civilian personnel who are tasked to prevent, investigate and secure sanctions against fraudsters. They undertake common training packages and are accredited by the Counter Fraud Professional Accreditation Board (CFPAB). This paper first outlines the emergence of the CFS; then draws upon the results of recent survey data to discuss some of their characteristics. The paper also considers some of the main issues raised by the growth of the CFS including the possible emergence of an embryonic ‘fraud police’, the indirect ‘load shedding’ of fraud investigation and the governance of this new breed of policing personnel.     

Claiming Citizenship: The Political Dimension of Welfare Fraud

This article exposes the political dimension of welfare fraud by investigating—in the context of the Israeli welfare reform of 2003—how forty‐nine Israeli women who live on welfare justify welfare fraud. I find that women's justifications cannot be fully explained by traditional noncompliance theories that view welfare fraud as an individual, private, criminal activity that solely reflects on the fraudster's moral character or desperate need. Instead, women's justifications for welfare fraud are better understood as a sociopolitical struggle for inclusion and deservedness—as a political act that reflects an alternative concept of citizenship with respect to women's unpaid care work.     

Equal before the law?

This article reviews empirically the relationship between politicians and decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute businesspeople who are suspected of fraud and of complicity in the supply of arms to Iraq, within the context of (a) conventional ideas about impartiality of the administration of law; and (b) the politics of bureaucratic survival. It discusses some key difficulties in ascertaining “what happened” and relative culpability in serious fraud trials, and the personal interest-inspired factors that can influence testimony. It concludes that in the UK, there is relative autonomy in decision-making in serious fraud cases, but that in “politically sensitive areas” such as the supply of arms to Iraq, there has been overt interference on purported “public interest” grounds with the information made available to the defence and even to the prosecution itself. It notes that without access to the grounds for decisionsnot to prosecute, their “purely legal” justification is difficult to challenge, and this is of most social significance where members of social elites are concerned. It concludes by addressing some difficulties in producing procedural models which provide genuine accountability for white-collar prosecutions and non-prosecutions in different countries.     

Coordinating individual and organisational responses to fraud

Crimes involving dishonesty, collectively known as fraud, have been estimated to cost developed nations many billions of dollars each year. The last decade has seen the creation of an extensive range of responses to this problem by government and business alike, some of which are beginning to bear fruit. But much remains to be done—particularly concerning the coordination of the many preventive and response strategies being used by public and private sector organisations. This article outlines current avenues of fraud reporting that individuals and organisations use, examines the extent of reporting, and considers the various barriers that exist to reporting fraud. The focus is primarily on Australia, although the issues have relevance to many other countries. It is argued that there are various approaches that could be developed to encourage greater reporting of fraud, and that a nationally coordinated response would assist those who make official reports, and enable information to be gathered which may assist in the development of improved fraud prevention strategies and interventions. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the Australian Government.     

“I knew it was a scam”: Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud

Research Summary

This article investigates the contributing factors (or triggers) to a realization of romance fraud victimization, based on 1015 reports lodged with Scamwatch (Australian online reporting portal for fraud) between July 2018 and July 2019 (inclusive). The article examines the free text narrative of each report to propose five discernible trigger categories: further requests for money; characteristics of communications; verification checks; an offender's action(s); and being told by a third party.

Policy Implications

Based on a comprehensive understanding of these five categories, the article advocates for broader messaging approaches to encompass financial literacy and well-being, cyberliteracy and critical thinking skills, cybersecurity practices, and respectful and healthy relationships. Leveraging the use of these wider education and awareness campaigns could improve recognition of romance fraud. Importantly, it is suggested that banks and other financial institutions are in a strong position to focus their efforts on some of these broader messages to effect positive change.     

European Monetary Union: Legal Compliance Information Technology Systems. Apres 'le Weekend'

A number of articles have been written about IT law aspects of the euro, and there is the implication that there is something special about euro implementation from the IT law point of view. While there are particular issues arising with the rounding and conversion rules, the conclusion in this article is that, even though the euro is not 'just another currency', a euro IT project is just like most other complex IT projects … only more so. A euro IT project for a multinational in Europe could be as big as any which that company has yet handled, because it may well involve the introduction of entirely new financial and accounting systems. For that reason, customers should follow proper contractual and project procedures. Suppliers should be careful about what they include in their warranties and specifications and should avoid over-general or overgenerous warranties. In response, end-users must allow as much time as possible, make the effort to scope their requirements, to understand what they need, and to make sure that their contracts and schedules capture all those needs.     

Too big to fail,too powerful to jail? On the absence of criminal prosecutions after the 2008 financial meltdown

Various explanations have been offered regarding the causes of the current global economic crisis that was spawned by the collapse of mortgage-based securities in the U.S. that were sold world-wide and that contained "toxic assets" comprised of subprime loans. There is ample evidence that such loans were originated through fraud. Firms recorded huge profits, and executives were awarded large bonuses even though some had led their companies into bankruptcy and plunged both the U.S. and global economies into the greatest recession since the Great Depression. This paper assesses the reasons why there have been no major prosecutions to date, and compares the U.S. government's response to that in the savings and loan crisis. It analyzes the influence of large financial institutions on lawmaking, regulation, and the allocation of enforcement resources, the continued general lack of understanding of financial fraud including control fraud, and problems related to the higher status and power of potential defendants.     

OLAF’s role in the fight against fraud in the European Union: do too many cooks spoil the broth?

This article discusses the role of OLAF in the fight against fraud in the European Union (EU) by examining (1) its powers and capacity to coordinate the activities of anti-fraud agencies in the twenty seven member states and (2) the constraints which prevent OLAF from operating in a more effective manner. It also analyses OLAF’s relationship with other transnational agencies such as Eurojust and Europol and highlights the degree of fragmentation which exists among the many actors involved in the fight against fraud, a fragmented legal approach and the difficulties this presents in attempting to police sophisticated transnational frauds. The effect of EU expansion on this situation is considered and the support offered to new member states who have been asked to bring their anti-fraud structures up to the standards of existing members within a very short period of time is also examined. The efforts of Romania in seeking to build up anti-fraud structures and systems are discussed in some detail. This article concludes that despite the best efforts of the actors involved, a fragmented legal system and institutions have hampered the fight against fraud in the EU.     

Victims’ motivations for reporting to the ‘fraud justice network’

ABSTRACT

It is well-established that (online) fraud has one of the lowest reporting rates across all crime categories. However, there is a large gap examining why some victims choose to report online fraud offenses. Therefore, this paper examines the under-researched group of online fraud victims who reported their crimes to authorities. Based on interviews with 80 victims across Australia, who lost at least AUD10,000 to online fraud, this paper demonstrates two motivations behind reporting: a sense of individual justice, and an altruistic notion of protecting others. The paper also highlights the negativity associated with the reporting process. The paper uses these findings to determine what can be learnt from the victims who were willing to report. It concludes with a discussion of the challenges evident in seeking to improve the confidence of victims reporting to authorities.     

诉讼欺诈行为定性之探析

诉讼欺诈行为具有严重的社会危害性,但目前我国现行刑法对于诉讼欺诈行为的处罚力度不够,在司法实践中对同一行为处理结果差别悬殊。这主要是由于我国立法上对于该行为没有统一明确的规定,刑法理论上对该行为的定性问题争论颇大所致。对于诉讼欺诈行为,不宜按诈骗罪定罪处罚。对于诉讼欺诈犯罪过程中所实施的触犯现行刑法的行为,应依法定罪处罚,对于刑法没有规定的部分应按无罪处理。我国刑法应单独设立“诉讼欺诈罪”。     

Leaving Careers in IT: Gender Differences in Retention

The low prevalence of women in the information technology (IT) workforce has received considerable attention in recent years. The focus of much of this discussion concerns how women can be recruited into careers in IT by making careers more attractive and accessible to women. The size of the IT workforce depends on retention as well as recruitment. The focus of this study is on retention, examining factors related to retention and how retention varies by gender. Data for the study come from the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT) compiled by Science Resources Statistics (SRS), National Science Foundation (NSF). We find that retention varies by gender and that a sizeable proportion of IT-trained women who are not working in IT jobs leave the labor force rather than take positions in other occupations. We also find that marriage and family play different roles for women and men in affecting retention.JEL Classification: J1, J4, J6, J7, O39     

LOW SELF‐CONTROL,ROUTINE ACTIVITIES,AND FRAUD VICTIMIZATION*

Recent research has used both routine activity/lifestyle frameworks and self‐control theory to explain victimization. Thus far, combined tests of these theories have focused on offending populations and street crime victimization. Whether these frameworks also explain exposure to and likelihood of nonviolent victimization (e.g., fraud) in general‐population samples remains an open empirical question. Building on prior work, we assess the independent effects of routine consumer activities (i.e., remote purchasing) and low self‐control on the likelihood of fraud targeting and victimization. Using a representative sample of 922 adults from a statewide survey in Florida, the results confirm our expectation that remote‐purchasing activities increase consumers' risk of being targeted for fraud. Low self‐control has no effect on whether consumers are targeted, but it does significantly increase the likelihood of fraud victimization.     

Conceptualizing Semi‐Legality in Migration Research

What is semi‐legality, and why does it offer a viable alternative to the legality–illegality binary divide? Semi‐legality, as a heuristic device, is useful to frame the various “in‐between” statuses and not resorting to illegality every time ambiguities arise as this casts the net of potential fraud far too wide. It could be viewed as a multidimensional space where migrants' formal relationships with the state interact with their various forms of agency toward the law. As a sensitizing theoretical perspective, it helps to explain why many neoliberal regimes, which claim that law and order are the main features distinguishing them from others, actually engage in perpetuating the legally ambiguous modes of incorporation. Delineating the conditions of semi‐legality, I use data from 360 qualitative interviews with migrants in four European countries. I discuss: (1) “incomplete” responses to regularization programs (amnesties) – de facto fulfilling the legalization conditions, yet facing barriers to formally (de jure) corroborate this; (2) balancing between the temporality of residence in various EU countries—under‐staying in some and overstaying in others; and (3) the nexus with employment—where migrants' residence in a country is lawful, but their work exceeds the restrictions permitted by their visas.     

The effect of social support on fraud victims' reporting behavior: A research note

Little effort has been made to understand white-collar crime victims, and little is known about the factors that influence reporting behavior among these victims. In this paper we use the concept of social support to explain responses to fraud, one form of white-collar crime. Results show that social support in the form of information from others influences whether fraud victims report their victimizations. Fraud victims' responses parallel those of street crime victims in that both types of victims respond according to the direction of social support they receive from family and friends.