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Repository

The topics for discussion on this portal have already been analyzed by multiple actors. In this repository, the GS / OAS brings together some of them, as one more contribution to the discussion. This repository has two sections: In the Policy section, we will integrate information on policies relevant to the issues under discussion that are being implemented by Member States, Observer States and other States of the world. In Studies we will include analyzes, reports and reports published by academic institutions, think tanks, international and multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations and private entities, all of them of recognized prestige, which are relevant to the conversation. The OAS will publish these articles and reports in their original language.

La punta de un nuevo iceberg criminal, por Gastón Schulmeister, Departamento contra la Delincuencia Organizada Transnacional de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA)

  • 9 May 2020

El crimen organizado está acostumbrado a ajustarse rápidamente a lo que representa un mundo globalizado y cambiante. Un escenario de emergencia como el generado por el COVID-19 está poniendo a prueba una vez más su capacidad de adaptación, por lo que quienes trabajamos por coartar sus capacidades debemos redoblar ahora nuestra vigilancia.

The Pandemic Has Triggered Dramatic Shifts in the Global Criminal Underworld/ Foreign policiy

  • 8 May 2020

To say that COVID-19 changes everything is already a cliché. But it’s also true.

Drug cartels are facing broken supply chains, shrinking revenues, and shifting markets. Rising violence is just one effect.

After a temporary lull in homicidal violence in some countries, there are signs that it is rising once more. Meanwhile, crime groups are migrating online to where the action is. If left to their own devices, they could make the world a more dangerous place.

United States: Combatting COVID-19 fraud. Report US Department of Justice

  • 5 May 2020

The US Department of Justice is remaining vigilant in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting wrongdoing related to the crisis.  In a memo to U.S. Attorneys, Attorney General Barr said, "The pandemic is dangerous enough without wrongdoers seeking to profit from public panic and this sort of conduct cannot be tolerated."

Fraud Alert: Be aware that criminals are attempting to exploit COVID-19 worldwide through a variety of scams.

United States Fact Sheet: DHS is Taking on COVID-19 Related Fraud.

  • 24 April 2020

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been working nonstop to protect the American people from criminals who are attempting to exploit fear for financial gain. 

Throughout the crisis, transnational criminal organizations have attempted to profit from the shipping of prohibited medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and other products which claim to help in the fight against coronavirus. Other criminal opportunists are attempting social engineering, phishing, non-delivery, and auction fraud scams related to coronavirus.

However, the men and women of DHS across the country are standing watch to protect the American public from these criminal and often dangerous schemes.

“We are all Connected in a Digital World: Common Threats Require Common Answers,” by Alison August Treppel, Executive Secretary of the OAS Inter-American Commission against Terrorism

  • 20 April 2020
“We are all Connected in a Digital World: Common Threats Require Common Answers,” by Alison August Treppel, Executive Secretary of the OAS Inter-American Commission against Terrorism

Latin America and the Caribbean have presented one of the fastest rates of Internet growth since the beginning of the century. With a more than 2000% increase in the number of Internet users between the years 2000 and 2018, this access has brought numerous opportunities for the region. However, this growth has also created new cyber threats, requiring the development of public policies to protect users and ensure a secure and open Internet for all.

Cybercrime and Covid-19: Risks and Responses. UNODC

  • 14 April 2020

This briefing provides a snapshot of cybercrime threats within the context of the COVID19 pandemic. It has been sourced from confidential debriefs of UNODC law enforcement, governmental, NGO, academic, media, open-source and private sector partners around the world during early April 2020.

Cybercrime: Threats During the Covid-19 Pandemic/ Global Initiative

  • 8 April 2020

As COVID-19 spreads quickly, so does the threat of cybercrime. Hackers are taking advantage of the current uncertainty to send out even more phishing messages than usual, with varying degrees of sophistication.

The sector which is most crucial to containing the spread of COVID-19 – healthcare – is perhaps also the most vulnerable to ransomware attack.

Security experts are increasingly concerned about cybercrime because it currently benefits from favourable external conditions: a massive and uncoordinated shift to working from home offices in both public and private sectors, nationwide lockdowns which require increasing use of electronic transactions, and a rush for basic necessities, which fractures any semblance of ‘civil’ society. In the long run, economic recession will likely trigger tectonic changes in how young people sustain themselves. An increased reliance on criminality, both online and offline, is to be expected, particularly in regions where youth unemployment was already high.

The Pandemic and Organized Crime in Latin America: Ten Unknowns/ Americas Quarterly.

  • 8 April 2020

The relationship between catastrophes and organized crime is not straightforward, but past disasters can offer some clues. Especially in contexts marked by high levels of corruption, criminal groups reportedly have exploited crises to carry out extortion, embezzlement, diversion of aid, and other activities.

Catching the virus cybercrime, disinformation and the COVID-19 pandemic

  • 3 April 2020

Cybercriminals have been among the most adept at exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic for the various scams and attacks they carry out. With a record number of potential victims staying at home and using online services across the European Union (EU) during the pandemic, the ways for cybercriminals seeking to exploit emerging opportunities and vulnerabilities have multiplied.

Crime and Contagion: The impact of a pandemic on organized crime/ Global Initiative

  • 26 March 2020

The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is having profound impacts on society and the economy, and it will also influence and shape organized crime and illicit markets. The institutional response to the pandemic and the consequent reshaping of socio-economic norms worldwide will affect how criminal networks operate, as well as the nature of law-enforcement responses to them.

The realignment of state resources – in particular police services in responding to the virus – and the role of criminal groups, may have important influences on how such state services and groups evolve in the months to come. Vulnerable groups, such as people who use drugs or victims of human trafficking, may be particularly hard hit by the impact of the virus.

This brief is a result of information garnered from our networks and civil-society partners in the field, and draws from a comprehensive review of reporting on the impact of the coronavirus on criminal groups and illicit markets.