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Computer Capers: Tales of Electronic Thievery, Embezzlement and Fraud
An investigation of the new type of crime made possible by computer technology brings to light the schemes and motives of bank tellers, programmers, clever debtors and others who exploit flaws in computer systems to siphon off huge sums of money.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
173 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
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21 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Whiteside
15 booksThomas Whiteside was a distinguished American journalist and author whose investigative reporting for The New Yorker frequently spurred major legislative reform. After studying at the University of Chicago and serving in the Office of War Propaganda, he became a formidable voice in advocacy journalism. He is perhaps best known for his instrumental role in exposing the ecological and human devastation caused by Agent Orange; his meticulous reporting served as the primary catalyst for Congressional hearings and subsequent federal restrictions on the chemical.
Whiteside’s diverse body of work often challenged corporate and political power, from revealing the use of ethylene gas in industrial tomato farming to documenting police violence against journalists at the 1968 Democratic Convention. A prolific author, his books explored topics ranging from cigarette advertising and computer crime to the "blockbuster complex" of the publishing industry. In recognition of his enduring impact, he was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1986.
Whiteside’s diverse body of work often challenged corporate and political power, from revealing the use of ethylene gas in industrial tomato farming to documenting police violence against journalists at the 1968 Democratic Convention. A prolific author, his books explored topics ranging from cigarette advertising and computer crime to the "blockbuster complex" of the publishing industry. In recognition of his enduring impact, he was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 27, 2020
"Computers make everyone's job easier - including thieves!"
When one hears the word 'computer' today, one probably thinks of a laptop. Little do some know that computers have been around for over 50 years already. The early ones by IBM were these huge machines that took up more floor space than our first apartment. They used these reels of magnetic tape to store data and were programed with these cards that were punched with little rectangular holes. Companies shared these monstrosities. What you did was take your information to the computer and for maybe $1000 a day do work, store data, or play solitaire. In time some companies got their own computers, but as inconceivable as it is to some young people today, there was no internet and the only clouds were in the sky.
Computer crime in those days started out with attacks against the physical computer itself. Instead of using a virus, terrorist groups would break in to a facility and throw Molotov cocktails at the computers! This could result it hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. If you count lost data then the cost might be in the millions.
Ironically, much of the electronic thievery and embezzlement was not carried out some pimple-faced, overweight techy nerd in his mom's basement, but some computer user at work with not much more understanding of computers than what buttons to push to get their job done. What they did understand was the bookkeeping practices at their company or bank. They didn't just magically transfer a large chunk of change in a few key strokes like you see in the movies, but rather small amounts over a period of time, that not only added up to huge amounts but were often undetected, even by outside auditors! Why, one may ask? Because computers don't make mistakes.
Ah, but they do! One of the most successful thieves made his own algorithm to falsify data or hide it. His operation was so successful they didn't want to believe he was embezzling his employer for years. Most of the customers at certain banks probably looked at their bank statements and if they saw their checkbook was off by 20 or 30 cents that it was their error and not the bank's computer.
Years after this book was published a US aircraft was sent to the bone yard out in the desert. Due to human error, a live nuclear weapon was still on board. Every computerized check from point A to point B said that everything was in order. It took another human to discover the error.
Most thieves back then were only caught by accident. One was caught when his bookie was busted. When they were caught, they usually were not prosecuted because there really weren't any laws on the books, the prosecution didn't know how to proceed, and the companies didn't want to loose face.
Even back then some tech people were warning about trapdoors and Trojan Horses. The way they explained it makes me wonder of the wisdom of making computers and chips in China. Hey, labor is cheap in North Korea, let's have them make chips for our military!
Historically, this book made for some interesting reading.
When one hears the word 'computer' today, one probably thinks of a laptop. Little do some know that computers have been around for over 50 years already. The early ones by IBM were these huge machines that took up more floor space than our first apartment. They used these reels of magnetic tape to store data and were programed with these cards that were punched with little rectangular holes. Companies shared these monstrosities. What you did was take your information to the computer and for maybe $1000 a day do work, store data, or play solitaire. In time some companies got their own computers, but as inconceivable as it is to some young people today, there was no internet and the only clouds were in the sky.
Computer crime in those days started out with attacks against the physical computer itself. Instead of using a virus, terrorist groups would break in to a facility and throw Molotov cocktails at the computers! This could result it hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. If you count lost data then the cost might be in the millions.
Ironically, much of the electronic thievery and embezzlement was not carried out some pimple-faced, overweight techy nerd in his mom's basement, but some computer user at work with not much more understanding of computers than what buttons to push to get their job done. What they did understand was the bookkeeping practices at their company or bank. They didn't just magically transfer a large chunk of change in a few key strokes like you see in the movies, but rather small amounts over a period of time, that not only added up to huge amounts but were often undetected, even by outside auditors! Why, one may ask? Because computers don't make mistakes.
Ah, but they do! One of the most successful thieves made his own algorithm to falsify data or hide it. His operation was so successful they didn't want to believe he was embezzling his employer for years. Most of the customers at certain banks probably looked at their bank statements and if they saw their checkbook was off by 20 or 30 cents that it was their error and not the bank's computer.
Years after this book was published a US aircraft was sent to the bone yard out in the desert. Due to human error, a live nuclear weapon was still on board. Every computerized check from point A to point B said that everything was in order. It took another human to discover the error.
Most thieves back then were only caught by accident. One was caught when his bookie was busted. When they were caught, they usually were not prosecuted because there really weren't any laws on the books, the prosecution didn't know how to proceed, and the companies didn't want to loose face.
Even back then some tech people were warning about trapdoors and Trojan Horses. The way they explained it makes me wonder of the wisdom of making computers and chips in China. Hey, labor is cheap in North Korea, let's have them make chips for our military!
Historically, this book made for some interesting reading.
December 31, 2020
I was just looking to read about the Multics and Univac attacks in the Trapdoors and Trojan Horses chapter, but generally the book was fine if slightly light on details. I do find it interesting that little has changed all these years
May 24, 2012
This book was dated (viz. 1978) when I read it and wasn't all that instructive or amusing. The author, Whiteside, primarily writes about health and consumer safety.
April 29, 2021
This 1978 book was disappointing. I thought it would be fun and instructive to see what computer crime looked like before the personal computer.
In 1978 computers were things that big organizations had. Banks, governments, insurance companies and manufacturing giants relied on them. Regular people didn't own computers. Personal computers where hobbies. Apple Computer was incorporated in 1977. It is not mentioned in this book.
Whiteside was a writer for The New Yorker. He didn't really understand the world of computing. This short book is mostly his summary of newspaper and magazine articles about various computer crimes and his uninformed handwringing. I am surprised that these pieces were originally published in the New Yorker because they lack the deep reporting and easy wit that most New Yorker stories had in those days.
There is still some interesting stuff.
Some computer crime was easier back then. A guy gets a twelve month installment loan from a bank. The bank gives him a book of computer coded payment coupons. He rips out the twelfth coupon and sends it in with the payment. The computer reads that it is the twelfth payment and closes the loan as being paid.
Some computer crime was driven by old technology. Data was stored on large tape reels. Criminals would steal a reel of sensitive data and hold it for ransom. That was the only memory storage for the data. Companies got wise to that so they started making back up tapes. Smart criminals learned how to steal the master tape and the back up.
Because computing resources where so scarce, a popular crime was to hack into a computer so the hacker could use the computer to compute for their own business needs.
Some computer crime then was the same as computer crime now. Whiteside tells stories of industrial espionage to try to steal trade secrets from a computer. He also has examples of corporate insiders using computers to construct complex financial maneuvers in order to hide corporate crimes.
The more things change...
In 1978 computers were things that big organizations had. Banks, governments, insurance companies and manufacturing giants relied on them. Regular people didn't own computers. Personal computers where hobbies. Apple Computer was incorporated in 1977. It is not mentioned in this book.
Whiteside was a writer for The New Yorker. He didn't really understand the world of computing. This short book is mostly his summary of newspaper and magazine articles about various computer crimes and his uninformed handwringing. I am surprised that these pieces were originally published in the New Yorker because they lack the deep reporting and easy wit that most New Yorker stories had in those days.
There is still some interesting stuff.
Some computer crime was easier back then. A guy gets a twelve month installment loan from a bank. The bank gives him a book of computer coded payment coupons. He rips out the twelfth coupon and sends it in with the payment. The computer reads that it is the twelfth payment and closes the loan as being paid.
Some computer crime was driven by old technology. Data was stored on large tape reels. Criminals would steal a reel of sensitive data and hold it for ransom. That was the only memory storage for the data. Companies got wise to that so they started making back up tapes. Smart criminals learned how to steal the master tape and the back up.
Because computing resources where so scarce, a popular crime was to hack into a computer so the hacker could use the computer to compute for their own business needs.
Some computer crime then was the same as computer crime now. Whiteside tells stories of industrial espionage to try to steal trade secrets from a computer. He also has examples of corporate insiders using computers to construct complex financial maneuvers in order to hide corporate crimes.
The more things change...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews