Techno-theft robs millions from consumers and manufacturers.

• Author: Basile, Robert

A dozen well-dressed men walk calmly into the front lobby of a large corporation. Noting the visitors' corporate attire, employees figure these are legitimate businessmen on their way to a company meeting. They couldn't be more wrong. Surprising everyone, the men suddenly pull out automatic weapons and order employees to lie on the floor. In a few terrifying minutes, they pillage the company's computers, remove valuable memory chips, and flee with components having an estimated value of $5-12,000,000.

This latest chapter in an ongoing story of international intrigue is not a scene from a James Bond film. In fact, it recently occurred at a firm in Irvine, Calif, and is merely a small part of the disturbing trend of rising computer theft and other "techno-crime."

In California's Silicon Valley alone, it is estimated that $1,000,000 in components are lost to techno-thievery each week. Worldwide, over-all costs to electronics and insurance firms are approaching a staggering $8,000,000,000 a year and are expected to soar to $200,000,000,000 by the year 2000, according to the Technology Theft Prevention Foundation in Clinton, N.J. The foundation was started by insurance companies who, after paying out millions in computer theft claims, wanted to develop ways to curtail the rising techno-crime wave.

According to FBI and other law enforcement agencies who are working with the foundation, techno-crime can come in many forms. Although everything from motherboards to modems and disk drives are targeted by techno-thieves, central processing units and single in-line memory modules (SIMMs) represent the crown jewels of computer theft.

"Basically, these parts are non-traceable," indicates Sergeant Keith Lowry of the San Jose (Calif.) Police Department. "They are very liquid just like gold, and the market for resale is fantastic because there aren't enough products to go around. It's big business and it's opportunistic." Manufacturers and consumers alike are being shortchanged because techno-crime is having a substantial effect on the quality of available memory products in both the wholesale and retail markets.

Although consumers think they are getting a good deal, they frequently are getting ripped off The techno-crime itself sometimes is not an obvious one, such as that mentioned in the beginning of this article. Often, the crime is difficult to identify and the price paid can't be quantified. Nevertheless, they are there and are costing consumers...