Global Sporting Events - The Counterfeiters’ Bazaar by BC Tan, Head of Organised Crime Research, World-Check - In the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the overt availability of counterfeit football memorabilia visibly became a major issue for the organisers and South African authorities. In the first five months of 2010 over USD 13 million worth of counterfeit football apparel was seized in South Africa.

Authored by BC Tan, Head of World-Check's Organised Crime Research Unit this first in a series and looks at the involvement of organised crime in illegal sports betting. Bookmaking in particular has always been a major core income avenue for organised crime syndicates. While in the recent decades, organised crime groups have significantly evolved and expanded their range of lucrative illicit activities; illegal gambling operations still remains as one of the single largest revenue component for most traditional organised crime groups. surrounding large sporting events.

Cybercrime is a particularly fast growing and evolving criminal trade that is unfortunately inadequately understood. In the recent years, there has been a clear proliferation in both the quantity and complexity of cybercrime - rapidly evolving into far more complex and coordinated syndicates; which has enabled a shift away from simply targeting vulnerable consumers to focusing on financial institutions. In a 2008 report,
McAfee states that data theft and breaches from cybercrime may have cost businesses as much as $1 trillion globally in lost intellectual property and expenditures for repairing the damage. However the reputational damage from the publicity of cyber attacks could prove far more costly from undermined trust and brand value tirelessly accumulated.