What Trends Will You See In White Collar Crimes?

When speaking of white-collar crime, it differs from blue-collar crime in that it often ends up committed by people in positions of financial wealth or power. Violence, threats and physical force typically emerge in blue-collar crimes rather than white-collar crimes, but that does not make them any less impactful and harmful.

What do the trends related to white-collar crimes look like? Has it worsened in recent years, or do the numbers show a different story?

Increases in fraud crime

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse discusses trends seen among white-collar crimes in recent years. They actually state that since 2018, white-collar crimes and prosecution numbers both seem on a downward trend.

However, certain trends of crime within this umbrella category seem to steadily worsen. Fraud serves as one such example, which served as the highest-ranked type of white-collar crime in 2017. Even in 2018, with numbers generally lowering, fraud saw the most charges in the fiscal year of 2018.

More cases of identity theft

Identity theft also serves as a continuous problem, especially as digital interactions and the prominence of the internet continues to grow. It serves as the fifth-highest type of white-collar crime but seems poised to continue growing as time goes on.

Knowing the potential patterns for crime can help would-be victims maintain better awareness of their surroundings. It can keep some people from falling into traps of fraud or may prompt more careful attention toward protecting one’s identity. Thus, despite an overall decrease in crime, it is always best to keep trends in mind and stay on guard.