Flores, Anthony Gil D.

TOPIC: ETHICS, FRAUD, AND INTERNAL CONTROL

According to ‘TutorialsMate’, Cybercrime is a computer-oriented criminal activity that uses or
targets a network, computer system or network device with the purpose in mind of making
money. In extreme cases, it is possible for the criminal to even threaten an organization. Simply
put, Cybercrime is ‘carrying out illegal activities through digital means.'
Transferring viruses, malware, pornographic content, and illegal information are but one of the
few avenues that cybercriminals employ to destroy, steal and sabotage data— all of these are
for the sake of generating profit no less criminal in nature compared to other crimes.
In TutorialsMate’s video at minute four, DOJ classified Cybercrime into three, it is when
computers can be: (1) weaponized, (2) accessorized, or (3) stolen data from. Computers can be
weaponized when it is used to attack, such as to extort and slander, an individual, enterprise, or
government. It can also be accessorized, be it personal, enterprise, or government information,
illegal information can be privately stored very secretly. Lastly, Computers can be a great tool
for doing crimes as Cybercrimes are generally sneaky in nature thanks to internet anonymity.
It is difficult to accurately assess the effects of a Cybercrime as it may vary depending on
individuals, businesses, and the government. What is certain though is that Cybercrimes have
devastating effects, impacts which we have no idea the scale can reach, these crimes can
cause great data loss and ripples of financial impact.
The possible cause of Cybercrime is not just because of money. Objectively, according to
Mitchell R. Wegner’s video, three conditions exist for fraud to be perpetrated. These conditions
are (1) incentive, (2) opportunity, and (3) rationalization. This three represent the fraud triangle!
Instead of ‘conditions’, I prefer calling them stages as these three are more of a process
revolving around the crime doers' free will. It was neither accidental nor conditional, just
criminal. This is why Cybercrime is so much of a threat to a business's internal control.
The business workplace technically all have this-- incentive, opportunity, and a not-so-hard
rationalization. Summarizing Wagner’s video lecture into one sentence, I will describe it like this:
“Give a person an incentive, and he/she’ll find the opportunity to act on it.”
Incentive, a human being is a very self-interest-driven creature. For a person to willingly move,
he/she needs to know the benefits first. This self-reasoning will automatically provide the ‘need’
to commit fraud. Next, the incentive comes after the opportunity. This opportunity may appear
by chance or be created by the perpetrator. Still, no matter, whether the opportunity to commit
the crime has happened by chance, the crime itself wasn’t circumstantial as the criminal-doer
has decided to ultimately commit the crime. Before the crime and the opportunity, the stage of
‘realization’ then appears. The battle between your conscience and desire then ensues. What
will you do? Will you do the easy way out, do what is thrilling? Or will you be the good person,
right now, and maybe like forever?
The reason why cybercrimes are increasingly becoming fraudulent is opportunity itself is so
easily accessible with all the gadgets and computers. From the smallest crime like slandering on
the web, cybercrime is becoming more vicious by the day like Cybercrimes (1) sabotaging the
internal control of a company, (2) fraud that just anyone can do with a click and (3) ethics that
are becoming lesser by the day. Just by my observation alone, I see Cybercrime’s horridness.