Criminals, con-men, fraudsters… whatever we might like to call them, it’s a fair bet that many people who are responsible for food fraud don’t see themselves as ‘proper’ criminals. And it’s timely to remember that
Criminals, con-men, fraudsters… whatever we might like to call them, it’s a fair bet that many people who are responsible for food fraud don’t see themselves as ‘proper’ criminals. And it’s timely to remember that, although we often talk about food fraud using abstract concepts like ‘supply chain’, and ‘grey market’, the real story behind food fraud is men and women conducting illegal activities.
So who are the people responsible for food fraud? Although research specific to food-related fraud is scarce, within the broader world of ‘white collar crime’, fraud is overwhelming thought to be committed by men rather than women. People involved in food fraud can be classified into two types;
- Opportunistic fraudsters; and,
- Organised fraudsters.
Opportunistic criminals are those who are ‘in the right place at the right time’. They are most likely to be an employee or owner of a business within the food supply chain who has identified an opportunity to make a profit. Unfortunately, it appears that within this group there are many who feel compelled to commit fraud after finding their business in difficult circumstances. Commonly, the fraud will be committed to meet supply contracts or expectations of customers or to prevent bankruptcy.
Organised food fraud criminals have different motivations and often work in groups that actively seek out opportunities to make money without regard for laws and regulations. Often, these criminals will operate within other industries in addition to the food industry. Their frauds tend to be larger, more complicated and continue for longer periods of time than opportunistic frauds. The people behind these crimes are less likely to be legitimate employees of the food industry, but will know people inside the industry whom they use to gain access to the supply chain. Compared to opportunistic fraudsters, the activities of organised criminals tend to involve more people and the fraud is more likely to have a broader affect along and across supply chains. Combined with the fact that organised criminals are very likely to repeat their crimes if they prove to be profitable this means the frauds perpetrated by organised criminals can have a very large impact.
|Food industry connections||More likely to be employed within industry||Contacts and links to industry|
|Motivations||One-off financial gains or motivated by the need to prevent business financial failure or meet sales/supply contracts||Motivated by direct financial gain to support other criminal activities|
|Knowledge of food processes||Detai