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Americans have this terrible habit of assuming that the illicit drug trade conversation begins and ends with Mexico. However, the problem is far more global than the average American realizes. The problem begins with the growth of raw materials across the globe that are then formed into these illegal substances. However, if a farmer is trying to make an honest living by growing an ingredient that can be used in drugs or potentially feed his family, how are government agencies going to tell a difference? This is the question that poses such a large problem in the drug trade. Growing substances that can be used in drugs is not illegal, but growing these substances also starts an undeniable web of criminal activity. According to the DEA, tracking illicit shipments of raw materials is made difficult by the difficulty that comes along with finding the eventual purpose of these materials. If the DEA is claiming it is difficult to track material, that let's the public know just how dire the situation is because the DEA is the primary drug fighting agency in America. Their most significant program, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, provides assistance to all levels of enforcement agencies in high trafficking areas. This program also educates enforcement agencies from the top down on exactly how to fight drug trafficking.

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced today the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, involving 412 charged defendants across 41 federal districts, including 115 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $1.3 billion in false billings.

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Money laundering is one of the most popular white-collar crimes in the world today. It is the process of hiding illegally obtained money and can sometimes use entities such as foreign banks. Essentially, money laundering is a process used by criminals in order to make their income appear legitimate. Money launderers include drug dealers, but can expand into areas many wouldn't expect such as lawyers and doctors who typically launder money in order to avoid paying their full taxes. While laundering money may seem worth it in order to save a bit of cash, prison sentences can reach 20 years depending on the severity of the offense. One major organization that fights money laundering is the International Monetary Fund. They work in order to "ensure stability of the international monetary system". This is why the IMF created the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering in 1989. The Task Force fights corruption and tax evasion throughout the world by assessing countries' financial stature individually.

http://www.imf.org/external/

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO1Me-MY-Q0
Quick Facts:
- Human trafficking brings in 3 billion dollars of profit annually
- The Afghan heroin trade is worth roughly 55 billion dollars
- Identity theft produces roughly 1 billion dollars for criminals each year
- Roughly 2.7% to 3.6% of global GDP is laundered annually
- Cyber crime damage will reach 6 trillion dollars annually by 2021

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Identity theft has become rampant in recent history due to advancement in technologies. With these advancements in technologies come vast networks that span across borders throughout the planet. Globalization has made it much easier for identity thieves to do their work undetected because they are able to access information from countries on the other side of the globe. When it comes to punishing the criminals of this crime the United States took a stand in 1998 by raising maximum sentences for identity thieves to 15 years in prison. This prison sentence can come with a variety of fines and forfeitures as well. In 2004, as the identity theft world continued to expand, the United States created sentences for those who commit "aggravated" identity theft, which is when a person steals one's identity then proceeds to commit a felony. Aggravated identity theft comes carries an additional two years in prison compared to normal identity theft and if the felony is terroristic it can carry an additional five years. The FBI is prime fighter of identity theft in the United States. The FBI regularly updates its website to inform followers just how they can prevent their identity from being stolen and what steps they can take to ensure their own security. They also provide followers with information on how to fight back once their identity has actually been stolen.

https://www.fbi.gov/

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David Birch: A new way to stop identity theft

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Trade is a global pastime. People have traded everything from textiles to crops. However, there is a darker side to global trade as well. Humans have been traded just as regularly as textiles or food and as globalization has continued to revolutionize the world, it has revolutionized the human trade just as well. Women and children are the main victims of human trafficking and while many people assume that a majority of these victims are sexually exploited, that is false. Sixty eight percent of victims are forced into labor while twenty two percent of victims are sold for sexual reasons. Many of these victims come from countries where there is upheaval or political instability, which leaves human trafficking issues far behind the issues of stabilizing a country's political stature. Yet, the crime is egregious, but solutions are hard to come by because the crime is a global issue. According to YaleGlobal Online, there has been a massive increase in human trafficking in the past few years and while the UN, European Union, and some individual countries have taken steps in order to help fight human trafficking, little progress has actually been made. This is because the issue is much bigger than these groups or small countries. The global effect of human trafficking requires cooperation from nations from all over the world for any progress to be made.

https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/human-trafficking-casts-shadow-globalization

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Much like any business, the recent advancements in technology have rapidly revolutionized the world of crime. As cyber crimes have become more common, techniques to fight cyber crime has been forced to adapt just as quickly as the technology itself. Cyber crimes include: network intrusions, password cracking, cyber fraud, and cyber stalking, along with many others. Globalization has affected the world of cyber crime by connecting nations through the internet. With the exact locations of cyber crime being difficult to locate, these connections between nations are a vital pieces of the crime solving puzzle. However, large organizations such as Interpol have attempted to take stands against cyber crime. They work with a variety of companies in their member countries in order to enhance cyber security. They also hire corporations who specialize in cyber security to help educate and spread knowledge throughout the organization. Recently Interpol finished a three year partnership with Japan's NEC Corporation in which Interpol attempted to "get up to pace" with cyber criminals.

https://www.interpol.int/en