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Articles by Mark Button
Korean-Targeted Human Trafficking for Cyber Scam Operations: How Cambodia-Based Criminal Networks Exploit Korean Vulnerabilities
Advanced search Deviant Behavior Latest Articles Submit an article Journal homepage Full Article Figures & data References Citations Metrics Reprints & Permissions Read this article /doi/full/10.1080/01639625.2026.2685195?needAccess=true ABSTRACT Human trafficking intersects with cyber scams, yet Korean cases remain underexplored. This study provides an in-depth analysis of Korean-targeted recruitment and exploitation pathways for cyber scam operations in Cambodia.
Pathways, Pressure, and Profit: Adaptive Innovation and Strain in a Convicted Cybercrime Academy Called Hustle Kingdom
ABSTRACT This research offers the first empirical examination of the “Hustle Kingdom (HK)” phenomenon. Hustle Kingdoms are underground cybercrime training centers in West Africa that recruit and train young men to become digital fraudsters. The empirical foundation of this study draws on case files from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning the prosecution and eventual conviction of the proprietor and students of a Hustle Kingdom.
How the global anti-scam community could come together to beat the criminals
Consumers are increasingly being targeted by financial fraudsters who deceive them into sending money, access their bank accounts or take out loans using their identity. Over the summer, new and more sophisticated scams have been widespread. Behind these frauds—things like phishing emails and scam calls—are a variety of schemes designed to trap people from any section of society.
How the global anti-scam community could come together to beat the criminals
iSOMBOON/Shutterstock Consumers are increasingly being targeted by financial fraudsters who deceive them into sending money, access their bank accounts or take out loans using their identity. Over the summer, new and more sophisticated scams have been widespread. Behind these frauds – things like phishing emails and scam calls – are a variety of schemes designed to trap people from any section of society.
How the global anti-scam community could come together to beat the criminals Original
Consumers are increasingly being targeted by financial fraudsters who deceive them into sending money, access their bank accounts or take out loans using their identity. Over the summer, new and more sophisticated scams have been widespread. Behind these frauds – things like phishing emails and scam calls – are a variety of schemes designed to trap people from any section of society.
Digitate and Tata Chemicals Collaborate on Spend Intelligence Solutions to Power Enterprise-Grade Procurement Original
AI-powered spend Intelligence solution advances intelligent procurement with near real-time spend classification, optimization, and monitoring SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digitate, a leading global SaaS provider of AIOps solutions, today announced the successful go-live implementation of its AI-powered spend intelligence solution with Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL) – a global Chemicals company having presence across India, U.S., U.K., and Kenya.
Digitate Advances Agentic AI Platform to Accelerate Enterprises Towards Autonomous, Ticketless IT and Business Operations Original
New release launches purpose-built AI agents for IT and SREs as well as AI Assistants for CIOs to tackle complex enterprise tasks SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digitate, a leading global SaaS provider of AIOps solutions, today announced the launch of its latest release designed to help IT and business leaders materialize their vision of autonomous enterprise and ticketless operations.
An exploratory study of victimisation and near misses in online shopping fraud
ABSTRACT The internet has revolutionised retail sales, with online shopping a common practice globally. While convenient, offenders have also embraced the opportunity to target potential victims and their shopping carts. Online shopping fraud occurs when offenders represent themselves as legitimate online sellers to gain sales from unsuspecting victims, both by impersonating genuine retailers and creating fictional retailers with non-existent products.
How to stay safe in cyberspace: 5 essential reads
Whether we’re socialising, shopping, banking, studying or working, billions of people around the world spend hours each day online. This digital immersion has many benefits – and plenty of pitfalls, too. Here are just a few of the articles we’ve published by academics who specialise in various aspects of online safety. They’re packed full of cautionary tales and expert advice for keeping your digital spaces safe.
Fraudes en ligne et sextorsion: un problème devenu mondial
Alors que le monde devient de plus en plus connecté, la fraude numérique est passée d'un problème local à un problème mondial. L'Afrique de l'Ouest, en particulier le Ghana et le Nigeria, est le théâtre de la montée des “royaumes de l'arnaque” - - académies informelles qui forment des individus à la réalisation d'escroqueries numériques. Le terme “royaumes de l'arnaque” a été créé par les arnaqueurs en ligne eux-mêmes pour décrire leurs centres de formation.
Nigeria and Ghana are training people to run global scams. US has lost billions to them
As the world becomes increasingly connected, digital fraud has evolved from a local problem into a global one. West Africa, particularly Ghana and Nigeria, is witnessing the rise of “hustle kingdoms” – informal academies that train individuals to carry out digital scams. The term “hustle kingdoms” originated from online scammers themselves, used to describe their training centres. These environments are glorified in certain pockets of popular culture.
Hustle academies: west Africa’s online scammers are training others in fraud and sextortion
The term “hustle kingdoms” originated from online scammers themselves, used to describe their training centres. These environments are glorified in certain pockets of popular culture. The hustle kingdoms operate both online and offline, blending virtual training with in-person sessions. Similar setups existed in the 1980s and 1990s under the name “business centres”.
Hustle academies: west Africa’s online scammers are training others in fraud and sextortion
Suleman Lazarus, PhD, London School of Economics and Political Science and Mark Button, University of Portsmouth 13 September 2024 at 5:38 pm·4-min read As the world becomes increasingly connected, digital fraud has evolved from a local problem into a global one. West Africa, particularly Ghana and Nigeria, is witnessing the rise of “hustle kingdoms” – informal academies that train individuals to carry out digital scams.
Hustle academies: west Africa’s online scammers are training others in fraud and sextortion Original
As the world becomes increasingly connected, digital fraud has evolved from a local problem into a global one. West Africa, particularly Ghana and Nigeria, is witnessing the rise of “hustle kingdoms” – informal academies that train individuals to carry out digital scams. The term “hustle kingdoms” originated from online scammers themselves, used to describe their training centres. These environments are glorified in certain pockets of popular culture.
Replacing the Serious Fraud Office: The case for a new approach to serious economic crime
# Contents Summary The Serious Fraud Office has experienced regular criticism and periodic scandals related to its operation, which have often led to calls for serious reform through to abolition. The Serious Fraud Office should be reformed into a Serious Economic Crime Office (SECO) with a wider remit covering prevention, the capacity to use more regulatory sanctions and the ability to build a stronger relationship with the private sector.
Pyramid schemes are on the rise
Let’s say we invite you to invest £1,000 in our new and brilliant business. We promise you an impressive return on your money, and all we ask is that you persuade a few of your friends to invest the same amount. They in turn will need to find some more investors. But remember, we’re all in this together, and everyone will end up richer. Sound too good to be true? That’s because it is. Such an offer would be an example of a pyramid scheme, which is illegal in most countries.
Pyramid schemes are on the rise - but do those who join up deserve prosecution or compensation? Original
Let’s say we invite you to invest £1,000 in our new and brilliant business. We promise you an impressive return on your money, and all we ask is that you persuade a few of your friends to invest the same amount. They in turn will need to find some more investors. But remember, we’re all in this together, and everyone will end up richer. Sound too good to be true? That’s because it is. Such an offer would be an example of a pyramid scheme, which is illegal in most countries.
The Impact of Deviant Social Media Influencers and Consumer Characteristics on Purchasing Counterfeit Goods
Five dimensions of risk are used to assess the risk perceptions of consumers: three relate to product attributes, one to the economy and one to risk appetite. The respondents were asked about the importance of quality and safety in influencing their general purchasing decisions. They were also asked whether buying counterfeits poses a threat to health and safety. Enquiring into their awareness of risks to the economy, respondents indicated whether buying counterfeits harms businesses and jobs.
Advantageous comparison: using Twitter responses to understand similarities between cybercriminals (“Yahoo Boys”) and politicians (“Yahoo men”)
famous work, The constructionist/interpretivist lens discussed above (Section 3.1.) has also shaped the methods deployed in this study. In line with The Interpretation of Cultures, this study acknowledges that ‘a man is like an insect suspended and enveloped in spider webs of culture; the analysis of it and its actions, therefore, must go in search of meaning and subjective experience’ ( , p. 3).
Online fraudsters, colonial legacies and the north-south divide in Nigeria
Millions of people with email accounts have undoubtedly encountered fraudulent emails that originate from Nigeria. Online fraudsters from the huge west African nation are also known as Yahoo Boys. According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation analysed in academic research, they have defrauded millions of victims worldwide. Statistics about the actual value of Yahoo Boys’ scams do not exist. But the wider cost of scams in general in the UK alone has been estimated at £9.3 billion.
Economic Crime: From Conception to Response
The scope of economic crimes are unparalleled in modern times, particularly with the rise of the Internet and online financial services. This work provides an excellent approach to understand these offenses, and the individuals responsible. It is essential reading for professionals and the academy.
Vigilantes fighting online scams may be doing more harm than good
Fraud has reached “epidemic” levels in the United Kingdom over the past 12 months, costing up to £190 billion a year and constituting what the Royal United Services Institute has called a “national security threat” in need of an urgent institutional response. But it is clear that the police are struggling to keep pace with fraudsters. A 2018 Which? report found that an estimated 96% of fraud cases reported to Action Fraud go unsolved.
‘Scambaiting’: why the vigilantes fighting online fraudsters may do more harm than good
Fraud has reached “epidemic” levels in the UK over the past 12 months, costing up to £190 billion a year and constituting what the Royal United Services Institute has called a “national security threat” in need of an urgent institutional response. But it’s clear that the police are struggling to keep pace with fraudsters. A 2018 Which? report found that an estimated 96% of fraud cases reported to Action Fraud go unsolved.
Baylor's Kaur Takes Medalist Honors at Women's Texas Amateur
Texas Golf Association Press Release: AUSTIN – A little course knowledge went a long way on Tuesday for Baylor senior Gurleen Kaur at the University of Texas Golf Club. Quite familiar with the dramatic Hill Country course, Kaur poured in six birdies on her way to shooting a 4-under-par 67 during the Qualifying Round of the 99th Women’s Texas Amateur. Kaur earned Medalist honors and the No. 1 seed in the Championship Match Play Bracket with her impressive round.
Ports: net zero, systems thinking and big opportunities
As countries ramp up action against climate change and transition their economies towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, new practices and opportunities are likely to arise for their ports. Our research shows that, as well as planning for decarbonisation of operations within their boundaries, ports can expand their service offerings into new areas by considering the system-level change that decarbonisation will bring.
Vigilantes and private security are policing the internet where governments have failed
The internet revolution of the past 20 years has opened up countless new ways for people to shop, bank, find love – and to commit crimes. Every time we switch on a computer, open an email, view a website or make an online payment, there are multiple new opportunities for crimes to occur. In fact, almost half of all crimes against individuals in England and Wales now involve or are enabled by the internet.
Vigilantes and private security are policing the internet where governments have failed
The internet revolution of the past 20 years has opened up countless new ways for people to shop, bank, find love – and to commit crimes. Every time we switch on a computer, open an email, view a website or make an online payment, there are multiple new opportunities for crimes to occur. In fact, almost half of all crimes against individuals in England and Wales now involve or are enabled by the internet.
Editorial: economic and industrial espionage
In one of the most significant acts of industrial espionage ever, in the 1800s the British East India Company hired the botanist, Richard Fortune, to smuggle out of China tea cuttings, seeds, etc., which were used to help grow a tea industry in India which eclipsed the Chinese in a few decades (Rose 2010).
New Perspectives on the Politics of Suicide and Suicide Prevention, 1st Edition
Description Suicide and Social Justice unites diverse scholarly and social justice perspectives on the international problem of suicide and suicidal behavior. With a focus on social justice, the book seeks to understand the complex interactions between individual and group experiences with suicidality and various social pathologies, including inequality, intergenerational poverty, racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Letter: I don’t get it
I just do not get it. Alaska is the largest state in the union, with the most abundant natural resources, yet we cannot balance the budget? We are also one of the richest states in the union (per capita), yet have one of the highest poverty rates in the United States. I understand that there must be a devil’s advocate to hold back spending money from the Permanent Fund to pay for general services — but then there has to be a little common sense also.
Arcadia Biosciences Receives Its First Industrial Hemp Program License in Hawaii
The company’s new cannabis-dedicated operating unit, Arcadia Specialty Genomics, will commence research this April with a new 10-acre hemp cultivation facility. DAVIS, Calif. (March 4, 2019) – Building on last week’s launch of Arcadia Specialty Genomics™, a new cannabis-dedicated division of the agricultural food ingredient company, Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.
Arcadia Biosciences, a Leader in Advanced Agricultural Breeding and Gene Optimization, Announces New Business Unit Dedicated to Cannabis
Arcadia Specialty Genomics to bring standardization and optimization to America’s cannabis crop with a focus on improved plant quality, resiliency and yield. DAVIS, Calif. (February 28, 2019) – Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. (RKDA), an agricultural food ingredient company and proven leader in leveraging advanced, proprietary breeding techniques to improve the quality and nutritional content of wheat and soybeans, today announced the company will apply its expertise to a new crop: cannabis.
Influence of realistic wearing on the morphology and release of silver nanomaterials from textiles
V. Gagnon, M. Button, H. K. Boparai, M. Nearing, D. M. O'Carroll and K. P. Weber, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2019, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/C8EN00803E If you are not the author of this article and you wish to reproduce material from it in a third party non-RSC publication you must formally request permission using Copyright Clearance Center. Go to our Instructions for using Copyright Clearance Center page for details.
Influence of realistic wearing on the morphology and release of silver nanomaterials from textiles
V. Gagnon, M. Button, H. Boparai, M. M. Nearing, D. O'Carroll and K. Weber, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2018, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/C8EN00803E If you are not the author of this article and you wish to reproduce material from it in a third party non-RSC publication you must formally request permission using Copyright Clearance Center. Go to our Instructions for using Copyright Clearance Center page for details.
Bounded Rationality without Bounded Democracy: Nudges, Democratic Citizenship, and Pathways for Building Civic Capacity
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Bounded Rationality without Bounded Democracy: Nudges, Democratic Citizenship, and Pathways for Building Civic Capacity
Allcott, Hunt. 2011. “Social Norms and Energy Conservation.” Public Economics 95(9-10): 1082–95. Arad, Ayala and Rubinstein, Ariel. 2017. “The People’s Perspective on Libertarian-Paternalistic Policies.” Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ariel_Rubinstein2/publication/321161872_The_People%27s_Perspective_on_Libertarian-Paternalistic_Policies/links/5a129b3e458515cc5aa9e5a4/The-Peoples-Perspective-on-Libertarian-Paternalistic-Policies.pdf. Aristotle. 2004. The Nichomachean Ethics, trans.
Q&A: How environmental risk impacts insurer credit ratings
In the wake of severe weather events – for example, 2017’s particularly destructive Atlantic hurricane season – climate-related risk is rising on the global agenda. It was a key theme at COP23 – the twenty-third annual United Nations Climate Change Conference – in November, and more recently at Climate Finance Day in France, at which actions taken by the financial sector to both combat and protect against climate change were considered.
Cyber Frauds, Scams and their Victims (Paperback) - Routledge
Crime is undergoing a metamorphosis. The online technological revolution has created new opportunities for a wide variety of crimes which can be perpetrated on an industrial scale, and crimes traditionally committed in an offline environment are increasingly being transitioned to an online environment. This book takes a case study-based approach to exploring the types, perpetrators and victims of cyber frauds.
Would you resort to bribery? Studies show many would
It’s notoriously difficult to gauge how often people are willing to offer someone a bribe to get what they want. A 2007 survey suggested that across a range of industrialised countries, two per cent of the public had experienced a request for a bribe from a public official. In a sample of developing countries, the average was much higher, at 18.9%.
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