Is the Fraud Act a Useful Tool in E-crime Prosecution Dissertation - 1

Is the Fraud Act a Useful Tool in E-crime Prosecution - Dissertation Example Even though in existence for more than four decades, the Thefts Acts of 1968 and 1978 were deemed archaic and hence inadequate, when dealing with crimes that were internet based, as they failed they to check the increasing number of e-crimes. It is for this reason the Fraud Act 2006 was legislated, which purportedly had a large scope for prosecuting e- crimes under the purview of general offences, and including modern e-crimes, like phishing, while also increasing imprisonment terms. In this context, the paper seeks to examine and analyse whether the Fraud Act 2006, in reality, is an effective tool in terms of prosecuting cases of e-crimes. 1 Introduction 1.1 Background study The 21st century has seen the rapid use of Internet in UK (and elsewhere), primarily owing to the easy availability of computers (especially laptops), high-speed browsers and fast connectivity through broadband. This is evident in a survey report, which showed that in 1996 around 3.4 million adults were using th e internet in UK, which by the next 10 years had expanded to a figure of 28.5 million internet users (8 times more).1 This rapid creation of an internet-based society has increased the information sphere available to users while also changing the very nature of communication between individuals within cyberspace, which started reflecting to some extent in the actual physical world. Despite many benefits, widespread use of Internet has revealed a negative side, related to crime and criminal activities. Internet being a mode of personal and financial transaction, which is highly reliant on net-based interactions that take place through computers, without the people interacting ever coming face-to-face, which increases risk during interactions, especially in cases of financial transactions. The various activities that take place within the cyberspace attracts different kinds of people, and it is relatively ease for criminals to identify similar minded people, form online communities, a nd carry on their criminal activities. One major factor, which increases instances of cyber-crimes, is the promise of large-scale financial remuneration from a virtual crime. As the Post Note survey confirms â€Å"Information security experts suggest that the motives behind computer crime have changed†¦ [and] is now increasingly financially motivated.†2 This change in motive has occurred mainly due to rise in e-commerce, where we find that with nearly 45% of internet users using some kind of a financial transaction via cyberspace, there has been increasing number of online credits/debit card frauds, attempts at extortion attempts, and phishing.3 Another major factor that has helped to aggravate the problem of cybercrime is the anonymity that Internet offers. A criminal may hide his /her own identity behind spam mails, spoofed mails addresses, or even proxy servers and commit online frauds. There are available, different encryption technologies that allow users to mask th eir actual identities, and various forms of software, easily accessible, which allow users to remove all electronic activity

Case study World Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case study World Bank - Essay Example The Forbes Capital Hospitality Index (FCHI) measures macroeconomic indicators like GDP growth and international trade, along with societal factors affecting investment, including poverty, bureaucracy, technological advancement, and corruption." (Ravindran) World Bank has been actively involved in setting the right scene for economic development within countries on an international platform. There is a general agreement that corruption within the country can be controlled by taking active measures to involve civil societies, but the degree of involvement is still a matter of consideration. "Social marketing can make an important contribution to the creation of atmosphere in the public life that discourages fraud and corruption" (Kindra & Stapenburs, 1998) Social marketing can be used in public health campaigns (e.g., to reduce smoking and alcoholism, safe sex, and increasing physical fitness), environmental campaigns (e.g., fighting pollution, promoting recycling, saving water and power), education campaigns (to encourage literacy), and the protection of individual/group rights (e.g., racial and gender equality, gay and lesbian rights). Societal marketing based on ethical and philanthropic principle can achieve this dynamic change within a society, community and a country by raising the awareness of the citizens about the costs of the corruption to the country, addressing the concern about institutions within a country, increasing understanding regarding the factors of corruption within public behavior. World bank has taken a morally good stand to change the international scene for more humane endeavors, its contribution id noteworthy and has been a source of admiration and inspiration for many other world forums in guiding their decisions related to international trend in growth and expansion. The premier business publication said: "As access to capital markets around the world becomes commonplace for individual investors and multinational institutions alike, the race is on for countries to attract the foreign investment capital needed to fuel the engines of growth at home. Addressing this need for a "one-stop reference", Forbes began with a list of principles employed by the US Chamber of Commerce when considering international investments. FORBES has listed Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the US, the UK, Singapore, Australia, Estonia, Ireland, and New Zealand as the top 10 countries in the world in terms of capital hospitality. (Ravindran) ACT-UTILITARIANISM: Mill is an advocate of Utilitarian principle, Mill was especially impressed by the work of Jeremy Bentham. He agreed with Bentham when he argued in Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), that the proper objective of all conduct and legislation is "the greatest happiness of the greatest number". Mill became a Utilitarian and at the age of seventeen formed a discussion group called the utilitarian Society. Mill argues that the moral worth of actions is to be judged in terms of the consequences of those actions and our moral feelings often conflict with our inclinations of self-interest. He aimed to show humans the way the world is and how they could accommodate themselves to it and to one another. His aim was the improvement of humankind. His guide was the