The rise of the internet or, more specifically, of services offered and conducted online has led to a dramatic rise in frauds and scams. This study is a systematic review of the literature on the use of crime script analysis in the field of fraud facilitated by the internet to identify stages of the crime commission process across different forms of fraud and examine ways to disrupt those crimes. The scripts for different forms of fraud shared three common elements: communicating with the victim, recruiting enablers, and using money mules. These common elements suggest possible prevention measures. Future applications of crime scripts in the field of fraud and financial crime more broadly are discussed.
References
URLs correct as at September 2023
Aston M, McCombie S, Reardon B & Watters P 2009. A preliminary profiling of internet money mules: An Australian perspective. In 2009 Symposia and Workshops on Ubiquitous, Autonomic and Trusted Computing, Brisbane: 482–487. https://doi.org/10.1109/UIC-ATC.2009.63
AUSTRAC 2022. AUSTRAC 2020–21 annual report. https://www.austrac.gov.au/about-us/corporate-information-and-governance/annual-reports
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016. Personal fraud, 2014–15. ABS cat. no. 4528.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-fraud
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 2023. ACCC welcomes funding to establish National Anti-Scam Centre. Media release, 15 May. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-welcomes-funding-to-establish-national-anti-scam-centre
Australian Securities and Investments Commission 2020. ASIC obtains interim injunctions against Larry Dawson and PW Kitt Co Pty Ltd. Media release, 19 August. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2020-releases/20-187mr-asic-obtains-interim-injunctions-against-larry-dawson-and-pw-kitt-co-pty-ltd/
Boxall H, Boyd C, Dowling C & Morgan A 2018. Understanding domestic violence incidents using crime script analysis. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 558. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi558
Broadhurst R & Trivedi H 2020. Malware in spam email: Risks and trends in the Australian Spam Intelligence Database. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 603. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti04657
Burgard A & Schlembach C 2013. Frames of fraud: A qualitative analysis of the structure and process of victimization on the internet. International Journal of Cyber Criminology 7(2): 112–24
Cale J, Holt T, Leclerc B, Singh S & Drew J 2021. Crime commission processes in child sexual abuse material production and distribution: A systematic review. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 617. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti04893
Chiu Y-N & Leclerc B 2019. Scripting stranger sexual offenses against women. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment 33(2): 223–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063219889055
Chiu Y-N & Leclerc B 2017. An examination of sexual offenses against women by acquaintances: The utility of a script framework for prevention purposes. In B Leclerc & E Savona (eds), Crime prevention in the 21st century. Cham: Springer: 59–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27793-6_6
Chiu Y-N, Leclerc B & Townsley M 2011. Crime script analysis of drug manufacturing in clandestine laboratories: Implications for strategic intervention. British Journal of Criminology 51(2): 355–374. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr005
Choi K, Lee JL & Chun YT 2017. Voice phishing fraud and its modus operandi. Security Journal 30(2): 454–466. https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2014.49
Choi Y-J & Lee J 2021. The change in the methods of smishing in South Korea after the onset of covid-19. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues 24: 1–12
Clarke RV 2008. Situational crime prevention. In R Wortley & L Mazerolle (eds), Environmental criminology and crime analysis, 1st edition. Cullompton, UK: Willan: 178–194
Clarke RV & Newman G 2006. Outsmarting the terrorist. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International
Cornish DB 1994. The procedural analysis of offending and its relevance for situational prevention. In RV Clarke (ed), Crime prevention studies vol. 3. Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press
Cornish DB & Clarke RV 2002. Analyzing organized crimes. In AR Piquero and SG Tibbetts (eds), Rational choice and criminal behavior: Recent research and future challenges. New York, NY: Routledge: 41–63
Donegan M 2019. Crime script for mandate fraud. Journal of Money Laundering Control 22(4): 770–781. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-03-2019-0025
Drew JM & Drew ME 2010. The identification of Ponzi schemes: Can a picture tell a thousand frauds? Griffith Law Review 19: 51–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/10854668.2010.10854668
Ekblom P & Tilley N 2000. Criminology, situational crime prevention and the resourceful offender. British Journal of Criminology 40: 376–398. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/40.3.376
Emami C, Smith RG & Jorna P 2019. Online fraud victimisation in Australia: Risks and protective factors. Research Report no. 16. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/rr09319
Europol 2021. European money mule action leads to 1803 arrests. https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/european-money-mule-action-leads-to-1-803-arrests
Grand View Research 2023. Cyber security market size, share & trends analysis report by component, by security type, by solution, by services, by deployment, by organization size, by applications, by region, and segment forecasts, 2023 – 2030. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cyber-security-market
Hardy J, Bell P & Allan D 2020. A crime script analysis of the Madoff Investment Scheme. Crime Prevention and Community Safety 22(1): 68–97. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300-019-00082-6
Hutchings A 2018. Leaving on a jet plane: The trade in fraudulently obtained airline tickets. Crime, Law and Social Change 70(4): 461–487. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-018-9777-8
Hutchings A & Holt TJ 2015. A crime script analysis of the online stolen data market. British Journal of Criminology 55(3): 596–614. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azu106
Hutchings A & Pastrana S 2019. Understanding eWhoring. In 2019 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy, Stockholm, Sweden: 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1109/EuroSP.2019.00024
Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance 2019. 2018 Cyber incident & breach trends report. https://www.internetsociety.org/breach2019/
Junger M, Wang V & Schlömer M 2020. Fraud against businesses both online and offline: Crime scripts, business characteristics, efforts, and benefits. Crime Science 9(1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-020-00119-4
Leclerc B 2017. Boosting crime scene investigations capabilities through crime script analysis. In Q Rossy, D Décary-Hétu, O Delémont & M Mulone (eds), Routledge international handbook of forensic intelligence and criminology. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315541945
Leclerc B 2016. Crime scripts. In R Wortley and M Townsley (eds), Environmental criminology and crime analysis, 2nd edition. London: Routledge: 119–141. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315709826
Leclerc B 2014. Script analysis for crime controllers: Extending the reach of situational crime prevention. In S Caneppele & F Calderoni (eds), Organized crime, corruption and crime prevention. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01839-3_2
Leclerc B, Drew J, Holt T, Cale J & Singh S 2021. Child sexual abuse material on the darknet: A script analysis of how offenders operate. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 627. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti78160
Leclerc B & Reynald D 2017. When scripts and guardianship unite: A script model to facilitate intervention of capable guardians. Security Journal 30: 793–806. https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2015.8
Leclerc B & Wortley R (eds) 2013. Cognition and crime: Offender decision making and script analyses. Crime Science Series. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203083482
Leclerc B, Wortley R & Smallbone S 2011. Getting into the script of adult child sexual offenders and mapping out situational prevention measures. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 48(2): 209–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427810391540
Lee JR & Holt T 2020. The challenges and concerns of using big data to understand cybercrime. In B Leclerc & J Cale (eds), Big data. London: Routledge: 85–103. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351029704
Leukfeldt ER 2014. Cybercrime and social ties. Trends in Organized Crime 17(4): 231–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-014-9229-5
Leukfeldt ER, Kleemans ER & Stol WP 2017. A typology of cybercriminal networks: From low-tech all-rounders to high-tech specialists. Crime, Law and Social Change 67(1): 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-016-9662-2
Levi M 2008. Organized fraud and organizing frauds: Unpacking research on networks and organization. Criminology and Criminal Justice 8(4): 389–419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895808096470
Levi M & Smith RG 2021. Fraud and its relationship to pandemics and economic crises: From Spanish flu to COVID-19. Research Report no. 19. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/rr78115
Loggen J & Leukfeldt R 2022. Unraveling the crime scripts of phishing networks: An analysis of 45 court cases in the Netherlands. Trends in Organized Crime 25: 205–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-022-09448-z
Matthijsse SR, van’t Hoff-de Goede MS & Leukfeldt ER 2023. Your files have been encrypted: A crime script analysis of ransomware attacks. Trends in Organized Crime. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-023-09496-z
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG & PRISMA Group 2009. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Med 6(7): e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Morselli C & Roy J 2008. Brokerage qualifications in ringing operations. Criminology 46: 71–98. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2008.00103.x
National Audit Office 2017. Online fraud. HC 45. London: National Audit Office. https://www.nao.org.uk/report/online-fraud/
Rege A 2009. What’s love got to do with it? Exploring online dating scams and identity fraud. International Journal of Cyber Criminology 3(2): 494–512
Sõmer T, Hallaq B & Watson T 2016. Utilising journey mapping and crime scripting to combat cybercrime and cyber warfare attacks. Journal of Information Warfare 15(4): 39–49
Sosnowski M, Weis JS & Petrossian GA 2020. Using crime script analysis to understand the illegal harvesting of live corals: Case studies from Indonesia and Fiji. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 36(3): 384–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986220910295
Soudijn MR & Zegers BCT 2012. Cybercrime and virtual offender convergence settings. Trends in Organized Crime 15(2): 111–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-012-9159-z
Van Hardeveld GJ, Webber C & O’Hara K 2016. Discovering credit card fraud methods in online tutorials. Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Online Safety, Trust and Fraud Prevention. Hannover, Germany: Association for Computing Machinery: 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1145/2915368.2915369
Van Nguyen T 2022. The modus operandi of transnational computer fraud: A crime script analysis in Vietnam. Trends in Organized Crime 25: 226–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-021-09422-1
Whittaker JM & Button M 2020. Understanding pet scams: A case study of advance fee and non-delivery fraud using victims’ accounts. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 53(4): 497–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865820957077