Crime script for mandate fraud
| Pages | 770-781 |
| Published date | 07 October 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-03-2019-0025 |
| Date | 07 October 2019 |
| Author | Michael Donegan |
| Subject Matter | Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
Crime script for mandate fraud
Michael Donegan
University of Derby, Derby, UK and Cyber Crime Investigation Unit,
Derbyshire Constabulary, Ripley, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse research surrounding mandate fraud and to
devise a crime script identifying the crimecommission process. It is hoped this will assist in standardising
investigationof mandate fraud by law enforcement.
Design/methodology/approach –The design of this paper follows on from the approachtaken by van
Hardeveld et al. (2017) in identifying a cybercrime script for carding activity. The current environment
surrounding the investigation of digital fraud in the UK is examined through a review of the existing
literature. Analysis of the crime commissionprocess for mandate fraud is then outlined in a potential crime
script identifyingpossible intervention points for law enforcement.
Findings –UK law enforcement’s current response to digital fraud is struggling to provide positive
outcomes for victims. There is inconsistencyin the investigative approach and practical issues surrounding
how the digital fraud problemis tackled. Changing the emphasis of digital fraud investigation to focus on the
money laundering networks based in the UK also needs to be considered. Standardising investigation into
digital fraud by mapping out digital criminality using crime scripts and routine activity theory could be
beneficial for law enforcement. Theresults of this process could also assist in effectively identifying where
law enforcementresources may be best deployed to solve some of the practicalissues highlighted.
Originality/value –There is little literaturedirectly focused on a crime script for mandate fraud. This is
despite it being a significant contributor to fraud losses in the UK. For law enforcement, both digital and
financial investigation skill sets are required to investigate such offences. Therefore, mapping the crime
commissionprocess has significant value for clearly identifying investigativeintervention points.
Keywords Mandate fraud, Money laundering, Organized crime, Financial investigation,
Investigation, Criminal event
Paper type Viewpoint
Introduction
Fraud in the UK is estimated to have cost the economy £190bn in 2017 (NCA, 2017, p. 11).
The third biggest contributing offence to this figure is called mandate fraud (MF). This
involves an offender convincing a customer to change a payment process, by purportingto
be a company that receives regular payments from them (NCA, 2018, p. 20). This is most
commonly done through compromising and gaining access to a victim email account
(Commonwealth Bank, 2018, p. 8). Despite preventative literature being published by the
UK’s central fraud agency (Action Fraud, 2018) aimed at countering this issue, the number
of victims has not reduced. Data obtained from Action Fraud have actually shown that
between 2017 and 2018 the number of victim reports increased by 123 per cent to 3,451
(RSM, 2018). This corroborates a recent study, which concluded that UK law enforcement
(LE) is failing to deal with fraudeffectively (Police Foundation, 2018).
The prevalence of MF makes it importantto consider how LE could effectively tackle the
issue. Unfortunately, the researcher couldfind very little academic research, which directly
covered MF. To addressthis gap in the literature this piece will provide a conciseanalysis of
the investigation of MF in the UK. Existing literaturewill then be used to inform a potential
crime script for MF. Due to the complex nature of this crime type, it will not be possible to
JMLC
22,4
770
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.22 No. 4, 2019
pp. 770-781
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-03-2019-0025
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