What Are Business Crimes?

Types of White-Collar Crimes

• There are a wide variety of illegal activities that qualify as white-collar crimes. According to Delmar College, "occupational crimes" involve illegal actions committed to advance personal interests while "organizational crimes" involve illegal activities aimed at benefiting a company. Examples of occupational crimes include overcharging clients, doctoring accounting records and tax evasion. Examples of organization crimes include lying to investors and the public and misrepresenting products and services. Other white-collar crimes include bribery, extortion, blackmail, identity theft and counterfeiting.
  
  

Effects

• White-collar crimes can have many negative effects on individuals, companies and society as a whole. According to the FBI, "a single scam can destroy a company, devastate families by wiping out their life savings, or cost investors billions of dollars (or even all three, as in the Enron case)." Scams involving the illegal avoidance of taxes harm the nation by increasing the nation's debt.
  
  

Enforcement

• Enforcement of penalties on white-collar crime can be difficult since crimes may be hard to detect and guilt may be difficult to prove. Unlike overt crimes like bank robbery and violent crimes, white-collar crimes can easily go unnoticed. Even if crimes are discovered, it may be difficult to enforce a penalty since perpetrators of white-collar crimes often have the resources to mount a vigorous legal defense against charges. Sentences and fines imposed can amount to a slap on the wrist in comparison to the gravity of crimes committed.
  
  

Prevention

• Many white-collar crimes involve scams aimed at defrauding individuals out of money. Steps you can take to reduce the chances of being the victim of a scam include ignoring any email that is not sent by someone you know, ignoring advertisements for get-rich-quick ideas, and performing due diligence before making any financial transaction or giving out personal information. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.