Ordinary investors are now able to buy and sell shares online without dealing through intermediaries such as underwriters, brokers and investment advisers. While this may enhance the efficiency of securities markets, it also provides opportunities for criminal exploitation. As government services are increasingly provided through online facilities, and payments to governments increasingly made electronically, so will the opportunities for fraud increase. Government benefit systems such as social security and health insurance are increasingly the subject of manipulation by individuals seeking to obtain more than their legal entitlement. Salary systems may be similarly attractive as targets, and, in the case of taxation systems, including customs and excise fraud, some people will seek to evade payment either in part or altogether.
New technologies can also assist the crime of extortion in a variety of ways.
The Internet can be used to communicate an extortion threat. A financial institution or other organisation's information systems may be specified as the target of a threat. In cases of blackmail, the Internet can be used to communicate embarrassing or harmful information. When an extortion entails some financial consideration, electronic payment systems may be used to transfer the funds. And, finally, the Internet and World Wide Web may be incidental to the offence in question, such as when they are used to gather information about a prospective victim.