gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/risks/desktop.html). From this excerpt it is quite clear how serious this situation really is. "Desktop publishing technologies that enable documents to be scanned electronically and copies made and altered digitally, have provided extensive opportunities for counterfeiting and forgery of documents and the creation of false identities for use in various forms of commercial crime and fraud." (Australian Institute of Criminology - www.aic.gov.au) Just image how you would feel if someone used your name to withdraw your hard earned money. If this isn't bad enough it is also possible for normal everyday people to Steal your identity, that's right, the very proof that makes you who you are.
2.1 With the latest technology having enormous capacity, highly skilled individuals have a great capacity to produce and utilize forged documents. The question arises as to the benefits versus the problems or in this case illegal use of the technology. The companies, who created these devices, should have been made wait, until there was the sufficient technology to check for any form of forged documents. If there was time put aside for each advance in technology for the appropriate counter technology, maybe the banks and credit card companies wouldn't suffer from such losses. It is also possible that it might not have the reputation it has now, that is, if you buy something online then you could be exploited.
3.0 Fraud is not a new thing; it has been around for many years. With the latest advances in technology it has become a very common crime. These days "Banks and credit card companies suffer huge losses due to financial fraud. Organized crime can now orchestrate such fraud across the globe." (POL2 - technology and int"l security - page 2). Today on the net it is very hard to trust anything or anyone, as the old saying goes "if something appears to be too good to be true then it probably is" and with technology always improving, bettering itself, its becoming harder and harder to know what's fake and what's not.