Macy’s Is a Department Store

Macy’s

Macy’s is a department store that is considered in the mid- to upscale in range. It has associated itself with clothing, home décor, and jewelry. It is also known for its New York Thanksgiving parade, fourth of July fireworks among other events. Macy’s started in the early 1900 and developed and changed names and leadership since. Macy’s is part of a larger corporation Macy’s Inc. A corporation is defined by the Entrepreneur as a “A form of business operation that declares the business as a separate, legal entity guided by a group of officers known as the board of directors” (“Corporation Definition | Small Business Encyclopedia”). Macy’s stores (more than 750 in the US) are a subsidiary of Macy’s Inc. which owns both Macy’s and Bloomingdale trademarks.

The world today is all about technology and its advances. Almost everything is computerized or electronic and things that are not, tend to be looked at as archaic and old. Even crimes these days have evolved to include the computer or cyber world. Cyber crime is becoming more and more common. It tends to involve and affect not just the individuals but also companies, corporations and nations. Cyber crimes can range from individual identity theft, alterations of individual information, accessing companies’ databases and thefts of customers’ financial information to shutting down nuclear centrifuges, air defense systems, and electrical grids, cyber-attacks pose a serious threat to national security (Hathaway et al.). The U.S. Department of Justice broadly defines “computer crime as any violation of criminal law that involves knowledge of computer technology for its perpetration, investigation, or prosecution” (Cross and Miller 156). In my term paper I will present several recent cases that involved cybercrime, review the different types of cyber crime, and discuss the legal aspects of cyber crime.

According to the Bureau of Justice statistics, the National Computer Security Survey (NCSS) has divided cybercrime into three main categories:

1. Cyber attacks which consist of viruses that target a computer system,

2. Cyber theft where a computer is used to steal information or money, and

3. Other computer events that would include attempts or success at spying or hacking or phishing (“Cybercrime”).

The Australian Institute of Criminology on the other hand, recognizes nine types of cyber crime: (1) theft of telecommunications services (2) communications in furtherance of criminal conspiracies, (3) telecommunications piracy, (4) dissemination of offensive materials, (5) electronic money laundering and tax evasion, (6) electronic vandalism, terrorism and extortion, (7) sales and investment fraud, (8) illegal interception of telecommunications, and (9) electronic funds transfer fraud (“9 Types of Cyber Crime”).

Cross and Miller define cyber crime as any “crime that occurs online, in the virtual community of the Internet, as opposed to the physical world” (Cross and Miller G8).

The media has brought a lot of attention to cybercrime primarily because of its cost. According to the Washington Post, cybercrime could be costing between $445 billion to $ 1 trillion depending on the source (“Report”). According to that article, the United States of America has accused China of using cybercrime to spy economically on the U.S. This again goes along with the definition of cybercrime and its perpetrators and affected not only being individuals but nations. This type of cybercrime falls under two categories defined by the National Computer Security Survey: cyber theft and other computer events.

In Philippine, the first case of cybercrime was of a woman that used a bank manager’s ID to do unauthorized money transfers from a Philippine National Bank (PNB) branch in Guam (“‘Computer-Related Forgery’ Marks First Cybercrime Case”). This presents an example of “electronic funds transfer fraud” as defined by the Australian Institute of Criminology.

The increase in cybercrimes has led in itself to the development and thriving of cyber security companies that raise awareness and defend against cybercrimes. One such example is Wombat which has grown dramatically since its beginning in 2011 (Post-Gazette). Cyber security has become an industry of its own. “It is estimated to reach $95.6 billion this year and to grow to $155.7 billion by 2019, according to Dallas research firm Markets and Markets” (Post-Gazette).

Other examples of cybercrimes are when gangs use the internet to show videos of their crimes or to promote illegal activity such as prostitution. In his article, Robert Hanser discusses examples of cyber crimes where gang members from San Diego were operating