Current Events - Musings on Crime Waves Brewing

Evidences of increasing economic misery and climate for crime waves.

Americans Feel 15.6% Unemployment as Underemployment Surges 

Bloomberg.com reported that workers are feeling real pain from the recession that began in December 2007; they’re not represented in the U-3, 8.5 percent unemployment rate the Labor Department reported last week. Underreported unemployed workers are part of a broader group called U-6 that includes those who want a job but have stopped looking for work and those who want full-time positions but have to settle for part-time employment.  A measure of underemployment that counts those people has almost doubled over the past two years, to 15.6 percent, providing a more complete gauge of the labor market’s deterioration. Along with an historic drop in the percentage of the population who are working, and record numbers of long-term unemployed, the figures point to a permanent shift in employment patterns, said former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.

Kidnappings -- "Bossnappings" -- French Factory Workers hold Caterpillar Executives Hostage -- From the Herald Sun (Au), Employees at Caterpillar's factory in the southeastern city of Grenoble barricaded bosses inside an office yesterday after talks on a compensation deal for 733 workers facing redundancy broke down. Earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would meet the workers to discuss their demands. "Caterpillar is a firm that makes earthmoving equipment and which works mainly in the United States. The collapse in demand has been 80 per cent," Mr Sarkozy said, in an interview with Europe 1. "I will save the site. I will meet the union leaders since, if I understand right, they called for my help and I understand this. I won't let them down." It was not immediately clear what Mr Sarkozy's promise amounted to: The "site" as such is not under threat, but 733 of the firm's 2800 jobs at two plants in Grenoble are due to be cut.  Nevertheless, Mr Sarkozy's failure to criticise the workers for denying the bosses their freedom of movement could give encouragement to the organisers of increasingly militant protests across the country. The action was the latest in a spate of so-called "bossnappings" in France as anger mounts over the global economic crisis, and the President and his ministers have taken a careful approach to the protests. More on this topic; http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=bossnappings

Fraud -- scams surrounding foreclosure assistance -- Scams target homeowners seeking foreclosure rescue, MiamiHerald.com, South Florida is teeming with companies promising to help modify loans for borrowers facing foreclosure. The article states, "In loan modification scams, companies typically charge homeowners thousands of dollars in upfront fees to modify a loan, then make off with the money without providing aid. In other schemes, so-called investors convince borrowers to transfer title of their homes to themselves or a third party only to evict them later and sell the property. To lure customers, scammers often use company names that resemble legitimate nonprofits or government agencies consumers have heard about in television and radio advertisements, the Federal Trade Commission said."  More on this topic; http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=home+lending+refinance+fraud

"Amid Recession, FBI Makes New Push on Financial Crimes", U.S. News & World Report (04/01/09) ; Kingsbury, Alex

From the ASIS Daily Feed - "As financial crimes such as Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme continue to grab headlines, the FBI is increasingly shifting its focus away from terrorism and towards fighting white-collar crime. Over the past five weeks, the FBI has opened more than 200 mortgage-fraud cases and 36 corporate-fraud investigations. Both numbers are expected to continue to grow rapidly in the near future, top FBI officials say. In another sign that white-collar crime has become a bigger priority at the FBI, the number of agents dealing with fraud has risen from 75 in October to more than 250 now. But despite the shift in focus at the FBI, justice for those involved in white-collar crimes may be slow in coming, since the crimes generate large amounts of paper and electronic records and can take years to investigate and prosecute." More on this topic; http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=financial+crimes+investigation

"Insider Fraud Swells as Banks Suffer".
Bank Technology News (04/09) ; Sausner, Rebecca

Another from the ASIS Daily Feed - Fraud is occurring more frequently as both crooks and employees seek ways to capitalize on vulnerabilities amidst economic uncertainty. Many risk teams are now trying to contain fraud at a moment when they are especially vulnerable. Bank of America's risk team received its wake-up call in March when one of its bankers was found participating in "rogue trading" activities that cost the company $120 million, while Actimize, a third-party risk mitigation vendor, discovered at one firm 19 employees who had pilfered money shortly before the fraud detection system was activated. These incidents affect corporate bottom lines, so security vendors are not surprised at the business they are getting even as many industries slow down. In fact, most major companies have increased their spending to purchase more comprehensive detection platforms, says Jaidev Iyer, a managing director with the Global Association of Risk Professionals.  More on this story: Insider fraud spikes as cyber espionage spreads, http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/editors-blog/2009/04/insider-fraud-spikes-as-cyber.html