The world today is confronted by many different crimes

December 03, 2012

The world today is confronted by many different crimes – from petty crimes, to hardened criminals’ crimes and blue and white collar crimes. White collar crimes are criminal acts which are in most cases related to financial matters and not about violence. Such crimes include bribery, embezzlement, fraud, computer crimes, consumer fraud, pension fund crimes, occupational crimes, forgery, identity theft, financial fraud, securities fraud, etc. These crimes can sometimes go undetected because they are usually committed with the aid of computers or doctored paperwork. But they are not to be mistaken as less serious crimes because they like other crimes are punishable by law with corresponding penalties or jail time.

White collar crimes are usually committed by people in high government or business positions. The fact that they have unrestricted access to government funds, for instance, in case of fraud committed by a government official, makes the crime easy for them to commit and remain undetected for a long time. Business moguls have access to every department in their organization and have the ability or the means to manipulate business financial records to serve their own vested interest or evil purpose. In both instances, a white collar crime lawyer have should be asked to handle the case. Whether it is committed byfwhite a businessman or a high-profile government official, white collar crime lawyers are the best person to give legal advice in such crimes.

White collar crimes are different from blue collar crimes in one big way – violence. White collar crimes generally do not involve any violence while blue collar offenders always factor in violence in the crimes committed. White collar crime offenders are usually privileged with money and power which make it easy for them to cover up their offenses. But somehow, sometime, through paper trail or other means, the crimes are uncovered and brought to light. At such time, the money involved will already run in billions of dollars and in most high-profile fraud cases, the business used for the crime is left totally bankrupt. The number of high-profile cases a white collar crime lawyer takes on will make him or her a good choice for the defense of a white collar crime case.

How many fraud or corruption cases have landed the headlines and TV news in the past? Too many times, unthinkable and big-scale corporate scandals and scams flashed on the TV screen, detailing how a top-notch business giant manipulated funds of the company for his own self interests and allow the company and the people who invested in it to lose millions of dollars through various fraudulent activities within the organization. In the past, such crimes seem to be only seen on TV series or the movies, but today, these crimes are coming out one after the other and not in small amounts but in billions of dollars most of the time.

One thing that could have caused the incidence of white collar crimes to go up is technology. While technology is expected by many to provide the best security for most businesses and organizations, it has been unfortunately instrumental in the commission of some white collar crimes. Technology is used by people who have the advantage of playing around with it to hack into confidential computer files and accounts and pull their crimes easily. And unless someone in the same capacity uncovers the anomalous activities, white collar crimes will take a long time before they are discovered and reported.