Crime comes in all types of forms, and not all of them are violent. White-collar crimes are non-violent acts that are typically committed by government and business professionals.
The main motivation of these crimes is financial, whether it is to gain money or property or avoid losing them. The FBI and other regulatory and law enforcement agencies work together to investigate common and main threats.
Corporate fraud
According to King University, the goal of corporate fraud is to mislead stakeholders, auditors and investors about a company’s success. This fraud includes insider trading, falsification of information and market timing schemes. Because these activities reduce investor confidence and hurt the global economy, corporate fraud is a top priority for investigators.
Securities and commodities fraud
This type of fraud takes place on investments made via retirement, brokerage and college savings accounts. Some examples include investment fraud (such as Ponzi schemes), broker embezzlement and market manipulation.
Money laundering
According to the FBI, money laundering is another major white-collar crime. It is a way that criminals hide money or property that they gained illegally and make it seem like the proceeds came from lawful sources. There are a variety of ways criminals launder their money, and some are real estate, financial institutions, precious metals and virtual currency.
Identity theft
Identity theft is another area law enforcement invests time and resources. It has been around a long time, but the methods criminals use to steal another’s identity have grown very sophisticated, especially with the internet. Along with names and social security numbers, common things criminals obtain are birth certificates, bank and credit card numbers, Medicare numbers, biometric data and passport numbers. Identity theft often involves other types of white-collar crime such as mail theft and internet fraud.
