By Marianne Junger*, Victoria Wang, Marleen Schlömer

This study analyses 300 cases of fraudulent activities against Dutch businesses, 100 from each of the following three categories: CEO-fraud, fraudulent contract, and ghost invoice. We examine crime scripts, key characteristics of targeted businesses, and the relationship between input criminal effort and output financial benefit. Results indicate that whilst all CEO-frauds are conducted online, most of the fraudulent contracts and ghost invoices are undertaken via offline means. Both Routine Activity Theory and Rational Choice Model are evidenced-fraudsters clearly take the business size and seasonality into account, and the input criminal effort and output criminal benefit are positively correlated. Having vigilant employees is evidenced as the most effective way of fraud prevention, both online and offline.

Crime Science 9(1): 1–15. 2020.

By Benoit Leclerc and Elena Morgenthaler

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.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 680.

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2023. 28p.

By Thom Snaphaan and Teun van Ruitenburg

This article presents a further development of the existing crime scripting framework to enhance insight in the financial aspects of profit-driven crime: financial crime scripting. By drawing on the foundations of crime script analysis, financial crime scripting allows to generate, organize and systematize knowledge about the financial aspects of the crime commission processes of a variety of crime types, and accounts for linking the dots with financial crimes, such as bribery, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering. Viewing these financial crimes as supporting or succeeding offences in light of profit-driven crimes, and at the same time providing guidance to analyze these offences as profit-driven crimes in itself, opens the door for detailed analyses without losing sight of the bigger picture, i.e., the interconnectedness with other crimes. This analytical method helps crime researchers to take into account the financial aspects of crime-commission processes in crime script analyses and could help law enforcement agencies and other crime prevention partners to go beyond a proceeds-of-crime approach and put a follow-the-money approach in practice. Financial crime scripting takes full account of the financial aspects of profit-driven crime and puts relevant concepts in broader perspective, enhancing understanding with conceptual clarity. In addition to outlining the framework, the relevance for policy and practice is unraveled and avenues for future research are discussed.)

European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 2024.