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CRIMINAL
CHARACTERISTIC OF CRIMES COMMITTED IN THE BANKING SYSTEM
BY USING UP-TO-DATE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Government vital activity banking system
which deals with accumulating, dividing and using governmental and private
funds is the most attractive for individual criminals and especially organized
criminal groups. The most financial swindles of different kinds accomplished
more often during various bank operations are committed now in this system.
To function normally economy needs to
have a reliable, stable and developed banking system where banks will implement
payments, extend credits to their clients in proper time, provide with services
in securities operations and so on, and so forth. If the bank financial
position is “swayed”, the financial standing of hundreds of bank clients can
give a lurch as well.
The annual growth in the bank offense
amount increases the size of loss caused by these crimes. Data for 1997-1998
prove that more than 75% of all losses inflicted by the financial criminality
only fall on the commerce bank field of business. (1)
Offenses committed in the banking system
or by using it can be attributed to the most dangerous economic crimes since their
negative influence is not only reflected on the bank itself but also the many
other subjects of the economical activity and the financial system of the
government at large.
Sums that are drawn from the banking
accounts of the depositors and the resources of the banks themselves by
applying computer systems reach especially great extents. Crime, which covers
corpus delicti provided by the Criminal Code of Ukraine in Clauses 190 “Fraud”,
200 “Illegal act with transfer bills, payment cards and other means of access
to the banking accounts, equipment for their manufacture”, 361 “Illegal
interference with the work of electronic computers, systems and computer nets”,
362 “Larceny, misappropriation, extortion or possession of the computer
information by swindling or abusing official position”, 363 “Violation of
operating rules for electronic systems”, can be attributed to this kind of
criminal activity.
Early 90-s the global society
computerization was initiated in Ukraine that did not become only a factor of the
scientific-and-technological progress but also entered work, everyday life,
science, education and culture. Computers became indispensable man help.
Today our country has sufficiently
developed system of electronic communication, which cannot be absolutely
reliable and protected. Such a situation gives criminals a possibility to get
an access to the computer information systems to conduct illegal manipulations
with mercenary motives. The society computerization results in increasing the
amount of computer crimes and their weight depending on the sums used in the
total part of the material costs in comparison with the ordinary offenses.
The object of the criminal trespass
depending on the kind of a crime is not the same. The criminal trespasses in
the bank sphere are determined by the criminal-and-legal indication depending
on the circumstances by the clauses of different chapters from the Criminal
Code of Ukraine: 1.Offenses against property – “Fraud” (190); 2.Offenses in the
sphere of economic activity – “Illegal acts with transfer bills, payment cards,
equipment for their manufacture and other means of access to the banking
accounts” (200); 3.Offenses in the sphere of using electronic computers,
systems and computer nets – “Illegal interference with the work of the
electronic computers, systems and computer nets” (361); “Larceny,
misappropriation, extortion and possession of the computer information by
swindling or abusing official position” (362); “Violation of the operating
rules for automated electronic systems”(363); (2). Funds of the government or
private firms, enterprises and persons in the Ukrainian or foreign currency,
goods and property as well are the object of these criminal trespasses.
The methods of committing banking
offenses are very different. Let us examine the crimes committed by using
modern information technologies: counterfeit and application of the plastic
payments cards and computer banking information.
For the last years the Ukrainian market
of the bank technologies traversed a path from the initial stage of
computerization – realizing the most
simple banking operations on the base of the personal computers, to the
valuable automated banking systems, which meet the most exacting modern requirements.
The international systems of payment are being introduced.
The modern state of the information
systems and electronic technique allows introducing the most delicate and
interesting technologies. One of them is so called "e-money".
The mutual interest of the government and
the owners of the plastic cards stipulated the appearance and spread of plastic
payments means. It is one of the ways for the government to reduce the needs in
ready money mass.
The emitters recurrently inform the
organizations, which accept cards, about the numbers of cards declared null and
void, stolen, lost or forged. The list of the numbers of such cards is called
“stop-list”. When using a card, it is checked for the validity of its details
by the “stop-list” and with the reading unit. (3)
Hackers are a real danger for the bank
industry of plastic payment means. When using special software they can
determine and then sell the numbers of valid accounts of the credit cards and
also extend passwords, identification numbers, credit and other personal
information through computer nets, thereby helping criminals to obtain illegal
access to the credit offices and computer systems of the financial
establishments.
But counterfeit is the most dangerous
threat for the payment systems with using bank plastic cards. This kind of
offenses is developed the most dynamically and creates great difficulties when
researching and calculating losses. Criminals use the numbers of the valid
cards and their owners even do not guess it.
Theft in the bank activity with using
electronic computers or computer nets is broadly extended now. This kind of
theft is characterized with that the criminals abused their official position
to get unlawful access to the computer information of the financial character,
concentrated in the electronic centers of the banking establishments, revealed
the flaws in the activity of the inspection services and carry out the criminal
operations with the information obtained from the electronic computers and data
carriers.
Today there are four groups of principal
means of committing computer crimes:
1.Information piracy: direct and
electromagnetic
2.Unauthorized access to information:
“computer boarding”, “mystification”, “disguising”, “changeable choice”, “by
tail”, “emergency”, “after fool”, “breakthrough”, “hatch”, “storehouse without
walls”, “system gawks”.
3.Manipulation with information: “Trojan
hobbled hoarse”, “Trojan wooden doll”, data substitution, code replacement,
computer virus, “salami”, “logical bomb”, “asynchronous attack”, modeling,
“kite”, “trap with bite”.
4.Obtaining and using information with
criminal purpose: larceny of software, equipment by means of computer
operations, theft of money by means of gaining confidential codes, computer
remittance, manipulation with computer or introducing alterations to the
program. (4)
Commitment of these crimes is preceded by
the certain preparation, the character of which depends on the level of
connection of the wrongdoers with the activity of the bank electronic center.
The unauthorized persons think over the ways of access to the computer systems,
try to find out the program passwords and keys. The programmers, operators and
other officials of the computer center and other bank departments who prepare
such a swindle choose the most favorable circumstance to commit it and can set
up a false firm with the settlement account to transfer drawn money, etc.
In the main, criminal action consists of
conducting contact operations of the wrongdoers with the electronic computers
or machine carriers, drawing necessary information or money from the e-accounts
of the bank clients, possessing it or transferring it to the accounts of the
“false” organizations.
Restoring the initial program that
underwent some changes in the process of criminal access to the bank computer
information conceals such an offense. Highly skilled experts who may breach the
bank software depending on its level of access can do this.
Situation created by criminals to commit
these crimes first of all is formed under the influence of different
misunderstanding, contradictory, undeveloped regulations in our legislation,
some insufficiently considered decisions and inadequately elaborated mechanism
of realizing decisions in the field of bank activity.
The circumstance is favorable for
swindlers who use plastic payments cards when “stop-lists” are not send in time
to the organizations which accept these cards and the persons who take and
check these cards at the commercial and other facilities are careless.
The situation of the lax control for
maintaining the established order of professional work in the electronic bank
nets and the insufficient protection of computer systems favor the mercenary
crimes dealing with using information electronic systems. Here criminals apply
favorable conditions already objectively formed for them more often than those
specially created by them. Even the insufficiently considered
organizational-and-administrative decisions can favor such plundering.
Criminal.
Psychology of profit-seekers, dealers, liking
for profit, striving for quick accumulation of wealth by any means without
taking into consideration that their actions can cause at times serious losses
to the economy of Ukraine is peculiar to most of them.
Persons who commit these crimes have
comparatively high level of education.
Persons who commit theft by means of
using computer bank systems should be referred to the specific category of
these wrongdoers.
Defining persons who commit computer
offenses it is necessary to mark the main distinction, and namely: very many
people ranged from highly skilled specialists to amateurs are involved in the
electronic criminality.
Home and foreign researches make it
possible to paint a portrait of a typical computer, electronic criminal, that
is a proper profile of this social type: he is average 30 years old, by
education – an engineer in the field of electronics and mathematics, or
programmer, but there are some cases when the criminals never had any technical
experience. Besides they are not on the books at IAA and do not have criminal past at all.
According to Computer Criminality
Research Center males are five times oftener the subjects of crimes committed
by means of using high technologies. The most criminals have full or incomplete
higher technical education (53,7%), another full or incomplete higher education
(19,2%). Persons aged from 30 to 45 (46,5%) and from 16 to 30 (37,8%) as well
prevail among them. (5)
From a position of human psychophysical
characteristics it is a desired official, a bright, thinking, creative person,
who knows his business and is ready to accept a technical challenge. They
always occupy senior posts and are equipped with special knowledge and the
newest technologies, have an access to the banking computer systems.
At the same time they are afraid of
losing their authority or certain status within the limits of a social group,
or being mocked at the work.
It should be taken into consideration
that at this stage the computer crimes in the bank system are committed mostly
in an organized way. It is explained by
that the organized criminal groups, which have wide influence, can transfer
money to the foreign bank accounts without any problems, or “launder” it
through false firms in order to legalize and bring it into circulation later
on.
These criminals are notable for
concentration and diligence, their actions are refined, cunning and accompanied
with excellent disguising. Outwardly the behavior of those people do not differ
from the social rules established in the society. More frequently they do not
only have special skills in making use of electronic computers, their devices
but also can apply bank program passwords and keys, use their expert knowledge
to falsify programs by means of altering correct output data. They are usually
operation officials who occupy various posts, programmers and computer
operators. Computer crimes with mercenary motives are also committed by so
called “hackers” (possessed programmers) who are chiefly young people well
technically and professionally trained to work with electronic computers and
draw up computer programs. (3)
Researches show that mainly bank
officials: programmers, engineers, and operators who are users or service
personal of electronic computers (41,9%) can obtain a direct unauthorized
access to the electronic computers, systems or computer nets. Almost twice less
the other bank officials (20,2%) can gain such an access, and in 8,6% of cases
the crime was committed by the officials that had been dismissed, 22,5% - an
unauthorized access is obtained by a stranger. (5)
“Hackers” – computer rowdies who enjoy
penetrating into smb. else’s computer. They are capital experts on information
technology. By means of telephones and home computers they are connected to the
nets, which transmit information linked nearly with all big computers that
operate in the field of economy and banking activity.
First hacker’s aim can be only a sporting
interest, connected with solving a difficult problem of “breaking” protection
of program product or creating computer virus only to please their self-admiration
or just make a fun. Hackers are notable for a high professionalism in
combination with specific computer fanaticism. It is necessary to underline
that the lack of evident unlawful intents features the criminals of this group.
Practically all their actions are taken to show their intellectual faculties.
Professional
criminals who act with obvious mercenary motive and have steady criminal
experience are the most dangerous threat for the sphere of banking activity.
Crimes that bear serial, continuous character are always concealed. More often
the members of the organized criminal groups are highly skilled experts with
higher mathematical, engineering and technical or economical education who are
equipped with special technique. Most of the especially unsafe crimes in public
offices such as misappropriation of money means to the particularly large
extents committed by applying computing machinery fall on the share of this
group of criminals.
They
work either at the offices against which they act or outside them, alone or
with accomplices. Some of them are weakly equipped and other have expensive,
prestige and powerful computer systems.
Revealing traces.
The biggest difficulty is to establish a fact of committing a computer crime in
the banking system. It is explained by that outwardly the fact of committing a
computer crime and its display in the environment is more modest than when
burglarizing a grocery store or quite insignificant. Outwardly you cannot see
an obvious loss of property inflicted by the electronic criminal. For example,
unlawful copying out information more often remains entirely unrevealed,
introducing a virus into computer is more often put down to the unintentional
error of the user who could not “reveal” it when contacting with inner computer
world.
Mechanism
of committing offenses connected with automated systems of processing
information is often hidden from the victims. Besides the fact of the
information leakage can be disguised by means of electronic devices at the
normal course of events before it is revealed.
Very
often executive officers obliged to ensure computer security are not
interesting in revealing fact of crime commitment. Acknowledgement of the fact
of unauthorized access to the system, which is under their jurisdiction, puts
under doubt their professional proficiency; weakness of computer security
measures undertaken by the administration can result in serious internal
complications.
As
for the suffered banks their officials are not interesting at all in
registration of those crimes but on the contrary try to conceal them
studiously. Since making public the fact of committing criminal actions against
bank computer will be negatively reflected on the authority of the
establishment and can result in losing clients (only in 8,2% of cases the
victims appeal to the law-enforcement agencies, and in other cases there are
only internal investigations). (5)
The
result of it is that the reluctance to inform about a crime, deliberately
concealing it, favors putting obstacles in the way of revealing criminal traces
which are insufficient enough as they are. But if the damaged party informs the
law-enforcement bodies about committed crime the team of inquiry arrives on
site of an accident and inspects it to reveal traces of the offense.
In
particular all the computers of the banking establishments are equipped with
the unauthorized access warning systems which fix all the attempts of this
kind. Suffice it to enter a proper command and computer will display all the
information. But a criminal can penetrate into another computer by finding weak
points in the system protection; in this case the unauthorized access will not
be fixed. In spite of prudence when working with information sometimes there
remain traces: accidentally erased information or program confusion, which
could occur when improper command is used. If money were drawn from the bank,
making more detailed inspection will reveal the inflicted loss of property.
The
officials, persons who know operating conditions very well and can use the
possibilities of this system with mercenary purposes, mainly commit the lion’s
share of computer crimes in the bank system. There are very few those people in
every establishment so crime traces can remain on their working places. They
are CD-ROMs, floppies where the criminal save necessary information, copies,
notes on sheets of paper (passwords, codes).
Unfortunately
electronic criminals commit nearly all the crimes in the daytime at the work
when they are engaged in their official activity and you can do nothing with
it. The only way out is to improve the protection system and restrict an access
to the information on the system operating conditions. The less informed, the
less suspected.
Circumstances
that are subject to specifying in a process of investigating banking crimes,
independently of their type are mainly determined on the base of their criminal
characteristic and by taking into consideration an evidential matter.
The first group
of these circumstances is connected with establishing all the main
circumstances of the crime case to be investigated: an object of criminal
trespass; means of commitment and mechanism (all stages) of criminal action,
situation of committing it (place, time, specification of financial operations,
conditions for performing and checking them, other local and surrounding
conditions that accompany actions to be investigated), other circumstances that
influence on the motives of actions; character and extent of the caused losses
(harmful consequences); individual peculiarities of the suspected; availability
or lack of indications of the organized criminal group activity (if it is
determined and the suspected are its members). It is important to ascertain (if
a crime had some episodes) the whole period during which the crimes were
committed, and all the circumstances of committing it. Revealing the enumerated
circumstances usually creates the necessary factual base for bringing an
accusation.
The
second group of circumstances combines facts that
confirm guilt of the accused, and motives of committing a crime, including
determining extent and nature of circumstances that aggravate or mitigate the
punishment.
The
third group of circumstances – conditions that favor
committing a crime (imperfection of legal regulation of applicable operations,
shortcomings of applicable rules of conducting operations, poor automation of
payment transactions, etc.)
The fourth group of circumstances bears largely a criminal character and is aimed to reveal data that help to determine sources of main and additional information on the case. The process of determining circumstances of the group includes: verification of investigation versions, which have arisen; verification and assessment of actual data that formed the basis for criminal assessment of the action to be investigated (information about means, mechanism and circumstance of committing a crime), and also revealing and assessing the extent of the inflicted loss, means of disposal of stolen property and valuables purchased with drawn money.