Chapter 11: Crimes Against Property

Question 1

cybercrime

Answer 1

crimes aimed at the valuable information contained in computers and wireless devices, especially computer databases accessible through the Internet

Question 2

robbery

Answer 2

taking property by force or the threat of force—a violent crime against persons and their property

Question 3

larceny

Answer 3

taking and carrying away a person’s property without the use of force

Question 4

conversion

Answer 4

wrongfully possessing or disposing of someone else’s property as if it were yours

Question 5

tangible property

Answer 5

personal property, not real estate

Question 6

intangible property

Answer 6

property worth nothing by itself but is proof of something of value (such as stock options, bonds, notes, trademarks, licenses, and patents)

Question 7

embezzlement

Answer 7

the crime of lawfully gaining possession of someone else’s property and later converting it to one’s own use

Question 8

abuse-of-trust crimes

Answer 8

crimes growing out of opportunities to get someone else’s property that was entrusted to the perpetrators because of their occupation, now known as white-collar crimes today

Question 9

fraud

Answer 9

a general term that means getting property by deception

Question 10

obtaining property by false pretenses

Answer 10

in modern law, often called “theft by deceit”; making false representations concerning past or present facts with the intent to defraud another

Question 11

theft

Answer 11

intentionally getting control of someone else’s property, includes larceny, embezzlement, and false pretense crimes

Question 12

white-collar crime

Answer 12

criminal behavior committed by the white-collar class, including fraud, swindling, and “double crossing”

Question 13

mail fraud statutes

Answer 13

includes “schemes to defraud or for obtaining money or property” using the U.S. mail

Question 14

ponzi scheme

Answer 14

a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors rather from any actual profit earned

Question 15

robbery actus reus

Answer 15

an act or threat of force BEYOND the amount needed to take and carry away someone else’s property

Question 16

robbery mens rea

Answer 16

the intent to take another person’s property and keep it permanently with the additional intent to use immediate force, or the threat of immediate force, to get it

Question 17

receiving stolen property

Answer 17

benefitting from the theft of someone else’s property without having participated in the wrongful acquisition in the first place

Question 18

fences

Answer 18

receivers of stolen goods or places where stolen goods are bought

Question 19

receiving stolen property actus reus

Answer 19

the act of receiving and controlling at least temporarily (but not necessarily possessing) the property

Question 20

receiving stolen property mens rea

Answer 20

depending on the jurisdiction, knowing or believing that received goods are stolen

Question 21

arson

Answer 21

damaging or destroying buildings by burning

Question 22

criminal mischief

Answer 22

damaging or destroying personal property

Question 23

burning

Answer 23

criminal act of setting a building on fire

Question 24

arson mens rea

Answer 24

requires a malicious intent to burn or set fire to buildings in most statutes; in some jurisdictions, requires only the general-intent to start a fire

Question 25

first-degree arson

Answer 25

burning homes or other occupied structures (such as schools, offices, and churches) where there’s danger to human life

Question 26

second-degree arson

Answer 26

includes burning unoccupied structures, vehicles, and boats

Question 27

malicious mischief

Answer 27

common law crime of intentionally damaging or destroying another’s tangible property

Question 28

criminal mischief actus reus

Answer 28

in destruction or damage criminal mischief, the criminal act is burning, exploding, flooding, or committing some other dangerous act; in tampering, it’s any act that threatens or endangers property; in deception or threat, it’s causing harm through deception or threats

Question 29

burglary

Answer 29

breaking and entering a building or structure with intent to commit a crime inside the building

Question 30

breaking

Answer 30

part of the actus reus of common law burglary, requiring an unlawful, frequently destructive, entry into someone else’s building

Question 31

entering

Answer 31

part of the actus reus of burglary, meaning to come or go into the building or structure

Question 32

surreptitious remaining element

Answer 32

the entering of a structure lawfully with the intent to remain and commit a crime inside

Question 33

occupied structure

Answer 33

“any structure, vehicle, or place adapted for overnight accommodations or persons, or for carrying on business therein, whether or not a person is actually present”

Question 34

dwelling “of another”

Answer 34

any place where other people live

Question 35

criminal trespass

Answer 35

the unwanted, unauthorized invasion of another person’s property

Question 36

identity theft

Answer 36

stealing another person’s identity for the purpose of getting something of value

Question 37

intellectual property

Answer 37

ideas and their practical application owned by an individual, a business, or a society

Question 38

Tor browser

Answer 38

created by U.S. Naval intelligence, The Onion Router, or Tor browser, allows users to access the dark web and any website anonymously