Internet Fraud. An Overview

Abstract or Introduction

Internet fraud assumes different forms. Therefore, this term paper will give a comprehensive overview of internet fraud.

It appears that advances in the computer technology have led to the emergence of new crime activities. However, current wave of economic globalization requires extensive application of ICT in business transactions. As a result, e-commerce is seemingly assuming the center stage in the world of business. It has imparted sophistication in the way the global community carries out business transactions. Today, people do not need to have liquid cash in the pocket for business transactions as it used to be the case before the inception of e-commerce, in 1990’s. Moreover, electronic money transfers have offered people with a reliable alternative of buying and selling items through electronic means.

Purchase and selling of goods and services are currently being conducted at the comfort of one’s sofa set in the house or on the office chair. This has been enhanced by the invention of e-payment services, in which buyers can purchase commodities via online connection, the so-called online shopping and send the payments to the seller through electronic money transfer means.

However, e-commerce appear to be accompanied by enormous financial risks, especially with regard to internet fraud through which users of online money transfers are losing colossal sums of money to cyber criminals. It is believed that millions of people among the global population fall victims of internet fraud every year and, the vice has been assuming upward trends year-by-year.

From an accounting perspective, Internet fraud is a cyber crime in which cyber criminal develop an internet scheme to deprive a person of financial resources, especially by the creating dishonest misrepresentation of fact. Australian Federal Police (2012) defines internet fraud as, “any type of fraud scheme that uses email, web sites (and) chat rooms or message boards to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims” (par. 1). Internet fraud assumes different forms. Therefore, this term paper will give a comprehensive overview of internet fraud.