McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Criminal Investigation Criminal Investigation Swanson Chamelin Territo eighth edition FOURTEEN Larceny Offenses

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Explain the four categories of credit card fraud Be familiar with check fraud schemes and organizations Understand the process of cellular phone cloning Describe the classifications of shoplifters and the patterns of professional shoplifting groups Explain the most common types of confidence games Identify several forms of mail fraud Outline various techniques to launder money Describe identity theft Discuss the looting of archeological sites 14-1

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LARCENY The legal definition of larceny contains five essential elements: –taking and –carrying away –personal property –of another –with the intent to deprive permanently 14-2

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURE For theft to occur, two elements must be present: opportunity and desire –Investigative procedure depends on the facts of each case –Thus, the theft of an item from a home-possibly by a guest-would be handled differently from business thefts by employees 14-3

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CREDIT CARD FRAUD Types of Credit Card Fraud –Stolen cards. Credit cards can be stolen in a variety of ways, such as muggings, purse snatchings, and office and health club thefts. –Counterfeit credit cards. Counterfeit cards vary in quality from those made on embossing machines stolen for companies that produce cards to those of obviously poor quality. –Shave-and-paste schemes. Account number are shaved off one or more legitimate credit cards and replaced by new numbers. –Fraudulent application. Individuals apply to several credit card companies, hoping that one or more will issue them credit cards. 14-4

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHECK FRAUD ORGANIZATIONS The major groups. The principal ethnic groups involved in illegal check fraud schemes include Nigerians, Asians (particular Vietnamese), Russians, Armenians, and Mexicans. The players. Despite the lack of a rigid hierarchy, members typically fall into one or several roles. –Leaders. Leaders of an organization generally have an extensive criminal history and possess above- average intelligence. 14-5(a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHECK FRAUD ORGANIZATIONS (cont'd) –Check procurers. Check procurers obtain authentic checks, usually by stealing them while employed within a financial information on legitimate individuals. –Check passers. Check passers actually negotiate stolen and counterfeit checks through the banking system and collect the proceeds to distribute to the group. 14-5(b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. TYPES OF CHECK FRAUD SCHEMES There are a variety of check fraud schemes perpetrated throughout the country. Large-scale counterfeiting. The most notorious groups engaged in large-scale counterfeiting operations are the Vietnamese triads operating out of Orange County, California. Identity assumption. Seen in various metropolitan areas, identity assumption schemes often involve Nigerian and Vietnamese criminal organizations. Payroll-check fraud. A variation of the identity assumption scheme involves placing group members within payroll-check processing companies. 14-6

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CLONING BOX Cloning is the unauthorized and illegal programming of cellular phones with access codes of legitimate customers –It allows criminals to obtain cheap, mobile communications –The are not traceable through traditional law enforcement methods 14-7 (Courtesy Police Magazine)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PATTERNS OF PROFESSIONAL SHOPLIFTING GROUPS The groups usually operate in teams of two to six people. Some patterns include: –Use of a booster bag designed to defeat electronic sensory security devices –Use the U.S. mail and UPS to ship stolen clothing to specific locations for resale 14-8(a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PATTERNS OF PROFESSIONAL SHOPLIFTING GROUPS (cont'd) Sell stolen clothing on the street or to countries in South America Use false identification when arrested Use local motels as base of operations prior to re-sale 14-8(b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. SHOPLIFTING Shoplifters can be classified into two groups: –commercial shoplifters, or boosters, who steal merchandise for resale and –pilferers who take merchandise for private use Reducing Shoplifting Losses –The retailing industry is increasingly taking steps to reduce shoplifting losses, with techniques running from the simple to the sophisticated 14-8

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. RECOVERED STOLEN PROPERTY Shoplifting groups use local motels or a base of operation to: –inventory –store and –package merchandise 14-9 (Courtesy Detective Joseph Morrash, Alexandria, Virginia, Police Department)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CONFIDENCE GAMES The Pigeon Drop –This swindle is operated by two people who switch money envelopes on an unsuspecting victim. The Bank Examiner Scheme –The bank examiner scheme is one of the more sophisticated con games and requires knowledge of the target bank. The con artist poses as a bank examiner to swindle a bank customer. Inheritance Scam –In this scam, the victim's phone rings and, on the other end, a sweet-sounding person says, You may be the recipient of a huge inheritance 14-10(a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CONFIDENCE GAMES (cont'd) Three-Card Monte –This scam is similar to the traditional shell game. The con artist uses marked cards to cheat a victim. C.O.D. Scam –The suspects usually pose as delivery employees. After writing a phony mailing label, the suspect goes next door and asks the neighbor to accept a perishable package for the absent neighbor and to pay cash for COD charges (b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. EXAMPLES OF MAIL FRAUD Free Vacation Scam –When a postcard or letter is received in the mail and/or an unexpected phone call comes from an unknown company promising a complimentary vacation in an exotic spot, someone is probably trying to make the recipient the victim of the free vacation scam. 900 Telephone Number Schemes –There are swindlers who lure people to call a 900 number without giving anything in return for their money. Such a call may even result in charges on a phone bill of $30 or more. Advance Fee Loan Schemes –The advance fee swindler claims to be able to obtain a loan for a prospective borrower with ease from a legitimate lending institution, such as a bank or a savings and loan association. However, the swindler has no ability to secure a loan (b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. EXAMPLES OF MAIL FRAUD (cont'd) Work-at-Home Schemes –Advertised opportunities to earn money by doing work at home are frequently nothing more than fraudulent schemes and, at best, rarely result in any meaningful earnings. Home Improvement and Home Repair Frauds –A favorite trick of dishonest home repair firms is to mail a brochure offering to do an expensive job for an unusually low price. Once the contract is signed, the homeowner learns why the price was so low. The firm never delivers the service which was paid for in advance (c)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. WHITE COLLAR CRIME Defined as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his or her occupation 14-12

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PYRAMID SALES SCHEME This is a marketing program by which people buy the right to sell others the right to sell specific products The promoters select the product. These may include: –household items –cosmetics –safety devices 14-13(a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PYRAMID SALES SCHEME (cont'd) The promoters sell large inventories to distributors with the added incentive of permitting the distributor to sell new distributorships The real profit earned primarily by recruiters developing new recruits who develop more recruits There is little or no concern given to direct sale of the products or services to the public Ultimately consumer distribution becomes a sham and acts as a cloak of respectability 14-13(b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. MONEY LAUNDERING Before spending or otherwise using any funds obtained from illegal sources, criminals must give the money an aura of legality. This conversion is known as laundering. –The Laundering of Money by Organized Crime. Organized crime is an estimated $100 billion-a-year untaxed business operated by groups ranging from motorcycle gangs, to Asian drug triads, to the Italian Mafia. –Domestic Laundries. Businesses such as restaurants, bars, and massage parlors, which take in a high proportion of cash, tend to be more desirable as laundries than businesses that receive most of their income as checks or other traceable instruments (a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. MONEY LAUNDERING (cont'd) –Foreign Laundries. Much of the money invested by organized crime in legitimate businesses in the United States is first routed through secret numbered bank accounts in countries such as Liechtenstein. –Use of the Internet to Launder Money. One method of money laundering through the Internet is to establish a company offering services payable through the Internet. –Internet Gambling. It seems that Internet gambling might be an ideal web-based service to serve as a cover for a money laundering scheme through the net (b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. NUDE BAR: A FOCUS ON MONEY LAUNDERING Money laundering by organized crime often uses cash-oriented business such as: –restaurants –bars –adult entertainment venues © Joel Gordon

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LAUNDERING OF MONEY FROM ILLICIT SOURCES Organized crime has many sources of illegal funds that must be intermingled with legitimate business monies This process known as money laundering makes it difficult for investigators to trace the illegal funds 14-16

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. RACKETEERING RECORDS ANALYSIS UNIT (RRAU) This is part of the FBI Laboratory in Washington, DC. which can establish the necessary links between criminal and money laundering by examining records kept by criminals 14-17

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. IDENTITY THEFT Common ways thieves gather other person's identifying information include: –Dumpster Diving. Individuals or businesses that fails to dispose properly of personal identification information, by shredding or mutilating, are susceptible to a "dumpster diver." –This is essentially an individual who retrieves discarded material looking for anything of value. –Mail Theft. Mail theft presents another way criminals obtain personal identification information (a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. IDENTITY THEFT (cont'd) –Internal Access. Internal access refers to an individual obtaining personal information illegally from a computer connected to a credit reporting bureau or to an employee accessing a company's database that contains personal identification information. –Computerized Information and the Internet. With so much personal information obtainable in the networked world, thieves can access information easily (b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. RECOMMENDATIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING IDENTITY THEFT Local police can take the following steps to help citizens protect against identity theft: –Patrol residential areas on trash collection days and during the tax season –Enforce trespass laws with regard to residential and industrial dump sites –Advise citizens to shred documents and drop off mail in a locked mailbox 14-19(a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. RECOMMENDATIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING IDENTITY THEFT (cont'd) –Remind people to be cautious using automated teller machines –Disseminate information to the public on how to mitigate and prevent computer, credit, and cellular telephone fraud –Suggest restrictions to businesses to reduce internal access fraud –Educate officers about the various methods used to commit identity theft and the resulting types of fraud 14-19(b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. THE LOOTING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES Archaeological looting is defined as the illegal, unscientific removal of archaeological resources. It occurs on public and private lands. Legal Considerations –Federal Provisions. Federal preservation laws date from the late nineteenth century. –State Laws. As of mid-1990, none of the states had a unified law comprising all statutes protecting archaeological resources. Instead, states tend to categorize laws related to archaeological resources under a variety of headings (a)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. THE LOOTING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES (cont'd) Conducting Enforcement Investigations –Different laws apply when the violation occurs on federal land as opposed to state land –There are relatively few laws applicable to private lands as opposed to the more heavily protected public lands 14-20(b)

McGraw-Hill © 2003, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. LOOTED GRAVE Archaeological locations of public and tribal land, has increased due to: –the widespread fascination with our past –the high dollar value associated with artifacts (Courtesy National Park Service)