Computer embezzlement—Prevention and control
Muh. Idham Amir · ITNOW · 1971
A modern computer has been defined as an electronic wonder that performs complex mathematical calculations and intricate accounting tabulations in ten thousandths of a second, and then mails out statements ten days late—or worse, triggers some dreaded headlines. The Wall Street Journal reports, ‘Crooked Operators Use Computers to Embezzle Money from Companies’. The article states that auditors are hampered by lack of written records, and that some firms are unaware of losses; it refers to a $250,000 programming theft. Computer-world reports a recent scheme involving the alleged misapplication of five million dollars of bank funds, causing the bank’s failure. The 3 February 1971 issue of Computerworld reports an alleged embezzlement of $128,000 from the New Jersey National Bank in Trenton, New Jersey. According to the Director of Security for the bank, ‘a knowledge of the computer system effected this … they couldn’t have done it without access to the system’.