Types of white collar crimes

Bait and switch is one of the most common methods merchants use, and a lot of consumers have fallen for the trick without even knowing of it. It happens when a consumer's attention is grabbed then shifted towards an advertisement for a deficient priced item. He or she is later convinced to part with a piece at a much higher price than he intended to buy. The trick of offering an individual something attractive to gain their favor or political support then exchanging it later with less favorite characters is also a part of bait and switch. An example of bait and switch is common among car dealers who can easily manipulate their victims to buy a more expensive automobile.

 Telemarketing fraud

It is a white-collar type of crime conducted over a phone conversation with a potential victim. The caller persuades his potential victim. Therefore the manner in which the victim reacts can either favor or damage them. If the victim agrees to give the perpetrator vital information, the work of criminal becomes easier.

When money is sent to unknown persons or strangers or an individual gives out personal or financial data to an anonymous caller increases their vulnerability to this type of white-collar crime. Some warning signs can indicate telemarketing crimes. When the caller convinces his potential victim with fake urgency for instance, ‘act now while the offer lasts,' or ‘you have won yourself a brand new Toyota, but you have to cater for handling or any other charges.

 Ponzi scheme

This type of white collar crime is an investment scam that promises to offer high rates of profit returns with minimal risks involved to the investor. The more one brings in new investors, the more money is generated for the old investors and so on and so forth. Therefore the more new investors come in, the more the early investors earn. Due to the older receiving more than the original entrant, it is compared to the pyramid scheme. The scheme collapses the moment new investors become limited since the only way to make money is through them. New investors must be brought in to finance Ponzi scheme and maintain its status (Payne, 2013).

 Charity- based fraud

It is an act of utilizing lies or deceptions to fraudulently get finances from individuals with the intention of donating their money to charity. Usually, an individual or a group of people will come up with a fake charity organization and persuade prospective donors to contribute to their nonexistent course. Charity fraud does not only involve unreal or fictitious charities but other types of business based lies (Payne, 2013).

 Question 2

Bait and switch goals

  The goal is to advertise an item attractively and specially without any indication that the said product may run out of stock. My underlying intention as a criminal is selling more expensive items. I will also not mention mail orders and shipments of the said product in the intended advertisement. This withheld information helps me to remain within the confines of the law and attract more potential victim while perpetrating the crime. Any victim unaware of or does not realize the omitted information in the advertisement, for example, limited quantities, no mail order, and shipment, will become a potential victim indeed (Payne, 2013).

One of my main goals is to attract potential customers to my shop with attractive low priced items only for them to be disappointed as the low priced item will be substituted with an alternative product. Therefore my intentions as a white collar criminal would be to bait the potential customer while posing as the merchant by advertising an item or service at a bargained price than they are used to. This unusually low price will tease them into buying the other alternative product (Ferguson, 2010).

The Customer will then walk into the store to acquire the cheap priced item or service. The retailer will inform the customer of the sudden depletion of the thing he wanted, but an alternative product is available to compensate for the time and energy used to come to the store, the customer will gladly agree to the request. The item purchased will be pricier than the advertised item that he intended to buy (Ferguson, 2010).

Question 3

My potential victims would be anyone who shows the slightest interest in the advertisement meant to grab their attention. After an individual stops and takes an interest in the ad, I will pursue the opportunity to convince him of the low priced product. Apparently with the intent of luring him to the shop without his knowledge. Potential victim's needs assurance that the low priced product is real and accessible to them at their convenience (Ferguson, 2010).

 

 

Question 4

Identification of law enforcement agencies that will have the mandate of for investigating such crimes and the description of the challenges they will undergo while trying to investigate the potential crime:

The Federal Bureau of investigations, FBI has a particular unit that handles white collar crimes. Their investigations combine the evolution of intelligence with criminal activity investigations such as switch and bait. And other types of corporate fraud. Federal Bureau of investigations, FBI work very closely with other law enforcement organizations and consumer regulatory services to ensure that they bring to justice white collar kind of crimes (Ferguson, 2010).

 

 Challenges that the Federal Bureau Investigations would face

First of all, I would commit the crime under the confines of the law without leaving loopholes or weaknesses that might be used against me .Committing a crime within the confines of the law has already given me a lot of advantages which keeps me steps ahead of the law enforcement authorities. It is very overburdening for courtroom to persecute a case with no tangible evidence of what occurred. Bait and switch types of crimes need a different set of skills and knowledge compared to other kinds of crimes. Majority law enforcers prefer solving another kind of evil to handling white collar crimes. Due to their complex nature, it is challenging to understand and thus cannot be resolved quickly (Ferguson, 2010).

Bait and switch does not live a trail of evidence making it hard to link irregularities and possible ways through which the law was broken. This type of crime offers one a choice whether to buy the expensive product or leave the premise or store, of course I will convince them to buy but not in a forceful manner . Therefore, a victim had a decision to either buy the alternative product after knowing very well that the advertised low priced item was out of stock or walk away without purchasing anything. The element of choice makes the crime very hard to prosecute or bring to justice. The voluntary action gives me an advantage over the victim. The victim of my sins cannot claim in court he was forced to buy the alternative product and no evidence can reveal the contrary. Purchasing the alternative product can be said to be the work and qualities of good salesmanship (Minkes & Minkes, 2008).

Bait and switch is not just any ordinary crime. In practice, it is costly to persecute such a crime. Therefore the regulatory bodies frequently decide to settle the case out of court. The case may drag itself for a very long period leading to unnecessary expenses regarding legal fees (Minkes & Minkes, 2008).

  There is very poor coordination of services within the bodies given the mandate of handling such cases. The law enforcement agencies do not follow laws meant to protect the public against bait and switch crimes. Coming up with countermeasures may reduce or prevent bait and switch crimes from happening. The laxity has given criminals confidence to carry out the crimes without fear of them being brought to book. By the law enforcer (Minkes & Minkes, 2008).

White collar crime perpetrators can quickly cover their crimes. It is tough to detect or continuously follow through a case of such nature. Any loose ends may end up leading to another dead-end. Court procedure varies from state to state. This directly implies that the evidence will be handled in ununiformed ways. As the end result, perpetrators may get away with the crime or commit the crime in states where the laws are lenient and not strict enough to bring them to justice. The many challenges arise from the law system is to the type of crime committed (Minkes & Minkes, 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Ferguson, J. E. (2010). White-collar crime. New York: Chelsea House.

Minkes, J., & Minkes, A. L. (2008). Corporate and white-collar crime. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Payne, B. K. (2013). White-collar crime: The essentials. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications.