Chapter 15

Question 1

This includes not only professional shoplifters but also other associated problems such as theft from merchandise distribution centers, truck hijacking, credit card fraud, counterfeit goods, and fences and other outlets for stolen merchandise:

Answer 1

Organized Retail Crime (ORC)

Question 2

Theft or Copper & Precious metals is spurred by several important factors:

Answer 2

1) since 2001 the price of commodities (especially copper) has dramatically climbed from $1 per pound to over $4 per pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange
2) the trade and sale of copper is poorly regulated and is fueled by supply and demand at the global level
3) there is little means to associate stolen or raw copper to a specific crime scene
4) the theft of copper and other precious metals is relatively new, and various database development, for used task-force operations, and laws designed to capture important scrap-metal transaction have only recently been implemented by local and federal law-enforcement agencies to curb the problem

Question 3

When investing a larceny/theft, investigators consider the following strategies:

Answer 3

1) gathering detail lists of the stolen items, including serial numbers and photos
2) assess the modus operandi compared to other crimes within close geographic proximity
3) examine other reports and field interviews for suspicious individuals, vehicles, and activity in the area
4) check pawnshops and chop shops
5) obtain and review surveillance video
6) collect intelligence by carefully questioning arrestees charged in on related offenses after Mirandization and obtaining information on the offense for which they are charged
7) if the seller property has a cell phone, laptop, or iPad it may be tracked GPS

Question 4

This, which began to emerge as a problem in the 1990’s, has been called the “crime of the new millennium”:

Answer 4

Identity Theft

Question 5

Identity crime involved two types of criminal acts:

Answer 5

1) Identity theft

2) the follow-on crimes which occur, such as credit card and check fraud

Question 6

Scamming victims of personal information on the internent is done by the technique known as:

Answer 6

Phishing

Question 7

The three main patterns of identity theft can be established:

Answer 7

1) financial identity theft, which the theif uses the information for financial gain
2) criminal identity theft, wherein the imposter provides someone else,s name to law enforcement officers
3) identity cloning, which permits the thief to establish a “new life”

Question 8

The most victims reports that their first realization about the ID thefts from a _______________. One to six months after they began.

Answer 8

Negative contact

Question 9

Identity Theft:

Top three ways victim’s personal information obtained?

Answer 9

1) lost/stolen wallet, checkbook, or credit card
2) friends/acquaintances/relatives w/access to it
3) corrupt employee who has access to the info

Question 10

The quickest exact growing sector of credit card fraud maybe:

Answer 10

The counterfeiting of credit cards

Question 11

What are some of the indicators that a check has been altered or counterfeited:

Answer 11

1) there is no perforated edge; most checks should have a perforation on the edge
2) the routing and fractional routing numbers are inconsistent and/or do not match the location of the bank listed on the check
3) the check contains spots and stains
4) the word “VOID” appears

Question 12

Mortgage fraud schemes typically involve misrepresentations, false statements, or exclusions related to the property or the prospective buyer. These often take form as:

Answer 12

1) inflated appraisals
2) false loan applications
3) kickbacks
4) straw buyers which are manifested in reverse mortgages and foreclosure rescue schemes, illegal property flipping, build or buy out scams, and air loans.

NOTE: Investigators are often made aware of these schemes through Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR)

Question 13

Auction fraud ( including non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment) often fall within three types of categories:

Answer 13

1) over payment Fraud targets the seller
2) Wire-transfer schemes start with fraudulent and misleading ads for the sale of high-value items being posted on well-known auction site
3) Second-Chance schemes involves scammers who offer losing bidders of legitimate auctions the opportunity to buy the item(s) they wanted at reduced prices

Question 14

Senior citizens are particularly susceptible to being the victim of a variety of fraud schemes, including:

Answer 14

1) Medicare Fraud
2) telemarketing and funeral scams
3) counterfeit prescription drugs
4) Internet scans and cons
5) phony reverse mortgages

Question 15

From the perspective of a scammer, senior citizens are ideal victims for a number of reasons:

Answer 15

1) First, they generally have good credit and a sizable savings
2) Second, elderly victims are not as likely to report being a victim
3) Third, even if they were to report the crime,some senior citizens can be poor witnesses, based on their limited ability to recall information.

Question 16

One source of automobile fraud is staged accidents, which include: (3)

Answer 16

1) the swoop and squat
2) the drive down
3) the paper accident

Question 17

In this scam, a car quickly cuts in front of a legitimate motorist, hits the brakes, and creates a rear-end collision for which repair and fake medical claims can be made.

Answer 17

Swop and squat

Question 18

This involves waiving to another driver to make a turn in the intersection or elsewhere and then driving into the car, making it appear that the struck vehicle is at fault.

Answer 18

Drive down

Question 19

These are exactly that: no accident has take place.

Answer 19

Paper accident

Question 20

Among the most enduring con games are:(2)

Answer 20

1) the pigeon drop

2) the bank examiner scheme

Question 21

What type of con scheme?

Con approaches with a story of having just found an envelope filled with lots of money and asks if it belongs to them.

Answer 21

Pigeon drop

Question 22

Money laundering involves three distinct steps:

Answer 22

1) placement
2) layering
3) integration

Question 23

Money Laundering:

Making multiple deposits of cash or buying multiple bank drafts, which are checks issued by one bank against funds deposited in that bank that authorized a second bank to make payment to the entity named in the draft?

Answer 23

Smurfing

Question 24

Money Laundering:

This involves converting the funds placed into other assets or moving them to other financial institutions, the purpose of which is to further distance the funds from their legal source; these assets include bonds, stocks, works of art and jewelry?

Answer 24

Layering

Question 25

This is the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading, inaccurate, or deceptive charges on the victims’ telephone bills, which maybe accidental, but is often intentional?

Answer 25

Cramming

Question 26

There are five types of shoplifters?

Answer 26

1) kleptomaniacs
2) amateurs
3) professionals(the least numerous but produce the largest losses)
4) drug users
5) “desperate straits”

Question 27

This refers to the problem of significant losses to retailers caused by crews or rings of often mobile professional shoplifters?

Answer 27

Organized Retail Theft (ORT)

Question 28

What were the top ten Marketing Scams of 2010:

Answer 28

1) Fake Check Scams
2) Prize/Sweepstakes
3) Advance Fee Loans
4) Lotteries/Lottery Clubs
5) Phishing
6) Magazine Sales
7) Credit Card Offers
8) Scholarships/Grants
9) Buyers Clubs (not travel or lottery)
10) Nigerian Money Offers