It’s tough to go even a few months without seeing the effects of organized crime on the economy and everyday life. The most salient example these days is the rash of thefts of credit card data from big-name retail chains like Home Depot and Target. 集团犯罪对经济和日常生活造成的影响,时不时地就会跃入我们的视线当中。而近些时日最突出的例证,莫过于知名连锁店家得宝(Home Depot)和塔吉特百货(Target)的信用卡数据接连遭窃了。 While these threats are headline-grabbing and particularly frightening because e-commerce is a relatively new phenomenon and businesses and consumers aren’t totally sure how to protect themselves from hackers, it’s still a drop in the bucket in terms of overall organized crime earnings. 这些网络安全事件往往占据资讯头条,而且由于电子商务是个相对新鲜的事物,商家和顾客都不太清楚要如何防卫黑客的攻击,因此它们显得十分恐怖。其实相比起有组织犯罪的全部收入,这不过是沧海一粟罢了。 A 2013 survey from Javelin Strategy and Research estimates that the annual total loss to Americans due to identity theft was roughly $20 billion. But much of those costs comes from efforts to prevent identity theft or recover from its effects, rather than what thieves earn from their crimes. Compare that to estimates of pure revenue from other forms of organized crime like the drug trade and human trafficking: the Organization of American States estimates that the revenue for cocaine sales in the U.S. has reached $34 billion annually. When you add the market for other illicit drugs and revenue generators like human trafficking and extortion, it becomes clear that organized crime is still making most of its money from its legacy businesses, despite the fact that criminals are always looking for new ways to make a buck. |