Background
Cryptocurrency fraud has become a growing global concern, with various governments reporting an increase in the frequency of and losses from cryptocurrency scams. Despite increasing ...fraudulent activity involving cryptocurrencies, research on the potential of cryptocurrencies for fraud has not been examined in a systematic study. This review examines the current state of knowledge about what kinds of cryptocurrency fraud currently exist, or are expected to exist in the future, and provides comprehensive definitions of the frauds identified.
Methods
The study involved a scoping review of academic research and grey literature on cryptocurrency fraud and a 1.5-day expert consensus exercise. The review followed the PRISMA-ScR protocol, with eligibility criteria based on language, publication type, relevance to cryptocurrency fraud, and evidence provided. Researchers screened 391 academic records, 106 of which went on to the eligibility phase, and 63 of which were ultimately analysed. We screened 394 grey literature sources, 128 of which passed on to the eligibility phase, and 53 of which were included in our review. The expert consensus exercise was attended by high-profile participants from the private sector, government, and academia. It involved problem planning and analysis activities and discussion about the future of cryptocurrency crime.
Results
The academic literature identified 29 different types of cryptocurrency fraud; the grey literature discussed 32 types, 14 of which were not identified in the academic literature (i.e., 47 unique types in total). Ponzi schemes and (synonymous) high yield investment programmes were most discussed across all literature. Participants in the expert consensus exercise ranked pump-and-dump schemes and ransomware as the most profitable and feasible threats, though pump-and-dumps were, notably, perceived as the least harmful type of fraud.
Conclusions
The findings of this scoping review suggest cryptocurrency fraud research is rapidly developing in volume and breadth, though we remain at an early stage of thinking about future problems and scenarios involving cryptocurrencies. The findings of this work emphasise the need for better collaboration across sectors and consensus on definitions surrounding cryptocurrency fraud to address the problems identified.
Overseas diasporas have long been exploited by terrorist organisations seeking funding and support from areas beyond their operation. The Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), active in south-eastern ...Turkey, is no exception and maintains a significant international presence. This paper uses seventy-three survey responses and thirteen interviews amongst London's Turkish and Kurdish diaspora to provide an original and comprehensive insight into the PKK's overseas operations, including their offending patterns, methods, hotspots, offender/victim profiles and existing countermeasures. Respondents were also consulted on new community-based prevention measures designed to address limited law enforcement responses and the laissez-faire approaches of diaspora host countries. This strategy, which combines crime science and behavioural economic theories, consists of Clarke's "Situational Crime Prevention" theory and Thaler and Sunstein's "Nudge" theory (SCP+N). The results indicate that the PKK creates criminal opportunities by "legitimising" itself across diasporas by invoking ideological sympathy and social dependence (conceptualised as "constructed legitimisers"), ensuring minimal resistance to its activities. SCP+N is motivated as an effective counterstrategy, addressing both the rational and impulsive nature of offending. The overall theoretical contribution of this paper is to assess overseas terrorist financing through a prevention-oriented, situational and behavioural framework, and to propose a community-based strategy to effectively counter such activities.
We propose modifications for scoping (and by extension systematic) review methodologies to improve their contribution to horizon scanning exercises. As a means of systematically collecting, coding ...and synthesising literature, we argue that scoping reviews are ideal for conducting initial environmental scans of a topic of interest, trend analyses and scenario developments. To demonstrate this utility, this paper uses a futures-oriented scoping review of technology-enhanced money laundering and terrorist financing risks as an example. At the forefront of the proposed modifications is a quality assessment framework assessing reviewed publications for their neutrality, evidence, relevance and clarity (NERC). This proposed framework is not only ideal for appraising publications but also as an indication of likelihood, namely whether their discussed insights constitute possible, plausible or probable alternative futures. The validity of the NERC framework in achieving these aims is assessed successfully through statistical correlation tests. The overall aim of this paper is to motivate the proposed modifications, the NERC framework and (modified) scoping reviews more generally as a formidable tool for informing horizon scanning, decision-making and pre-emptive policy development.
•With some methodological enhancements, systematic and scoping reviews can become effective initial horizon scanning tools.•This article proposes six such modifications, including study selection, quality appraisal and expert verification.•The NERC framework (neutrality, evidence, relevance, and clarity) is proposed to assess publication quality.•The utility of NERC scores to identify weak signals, possible, plausible and probable future scenarios is demonstrated.•This can have significant impact on informing future studies, policy, prioritisation and understanding of futures issues.
•Technology advances are creating new money laundering and terrorist financing risks•This Delphi study identifies these risks, relevant stakeholders and countermeasures•Weaknesses in current ...countermeasures and dissent across industries are explored•A new prevention standard (3P) and framework (DECODE) are devised as policy solutions•These solutions aim to pre-emptively counter new risks and address points of dissent
Financial innovation and technological advances are growing at a pace unrivalled by any other period in history. However, as more stakeholders enter these markets, criminals are exploiting their inadvertent security deficiencies to launder illicit funds or finance terrorism. This three-round policy Delphi study involved consultations with 52 experts from different industries and countries to understand future risk-prone technological developments, possible prevention measures and relevant stakeholders. Results highlight a range of money laundering and terrorist financing risks being enabled by advances in distributed ledger technologies (predominantly through cryptocurrencies), new payment methods and financial technology (FinTech). These threats include privacy-enhanced cryptoassets, transaction laundering, e-currencies and digital-only financial services. Findings also suggest that detection-based countermeasures (currently the primary preventative approach) can be coupled with more diverse countermeasures to increase effectiveness. However, the unique circumstances and constraints specific to different stakeholders will affect the nature, utility, and extent to which they can implement certain countermeasures. As such, a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to prevention is undesirable. Drawing on expert insight from the study, we propose a framework and a 3-point standard of implementation to motivate cost-effective, user-friendly, and innovation-friendly measures to improve suspicious activity detection and futureproof technologies before their criminal exploitation becomes mainstream.
Abstract Objectives A comprehensive scoping review, followed by visual analyses of results, was conducted to understand the overall money laundering threat landscape. Methods A PRSIMA-ScR-compliant ...review of 105 money laundering ‘typologies and trends’ reports was conducted, coding different components of money laundering and addressing the often-inconsistent nature of typologies reporting. Results The review identified 16 typologies, over 200 value instruments, over 200 actors/entities and 2565 red-flag indicators relevant to money laundering. Results were visualised to identify aggregate trends, including the suspicious activities with which these actors/entities and value instruments are typically involved. Conclusion The review suggests that a more holistic and cross-typological approach to reporting money laundering-related financial intelligence can assist in fostering better data sharing and cooperation across jurisdictions. Implications are drawn for how ‘typologies’ can be reported and articulated across relevant stakeholders in a more standardised and effective manner to improve prevention measures.
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