E-fencing
E-fencing is the sale of stolen or shoplifted items on the Internet. According to The Sunday Times, criminals use both "pawnbrokers and internet auction sites as convenient sources of cash". According to the article, "Thanks to eBay, the shadowy world of fencing stolen goods is now electronic and accessible to all." "There is mounting concern about the electronic trade in stolen goods. Police statistics suggest there were more than 8,000 crimes on eBay reported last year, about one every hour, involving stolen goods, fraud or deception."
Crime rings steal in-demand items from retailers, then sell them online, because "anonymity and a worldwide market make Internet sales safer than ever for criminals... — safe enough that some rings take pre-orders, confident they can steal what's in demand. "Target, Supervalu, Wal-Mart and other retailers are pushing federal legislation to fight what they call 'e-fencing.'" "To date, the online industry has fought off bills in Congress that, among other things, would have required eBay, Amazon.com and other online brokers to keep serial numbers of certain items and reveal records of high-volume sellers to businesses that suspect those sellers traffic in their stolen merchandise."
An eBay spokesman has claimed, "Perhaps the dumbest place to try to fence stolen materials is on eBay," and news agencies have reported incidents of the police purchasing stolen property directly from thieves, leading to their capture. However, one California prosecutor differs with this, saying, "There's no need for the pawnbroker. Internet auctions have suddenly become a really easy way to fence stuff." According to CNBC, in January, 2007, e-fencing is a $37 billion business. Retailers have been complaining about the online sale of their stolen goods but the online auction industry has taken the stance that retailers need to do more policing instead. According to eBay's Vice President of Trust & Safety, Rob Chesnut, it is the job of major retailers to prevent criminals from lifting their products.
Read more about this topic: Fence (criminal)