Anticipating Mobile Phone ‘Smart Wallet’ Crime: Policing and Corporate Social Responsibility

Policing continues to struggle with the wave of mobile phone theft that emerged from the mid-1990s onwards. In this decade, the rate of increase may be waning, but the next wave may be approaching. Mobile phone smart wallets combine smart card technology with mobile phones, and the potential for identity theft and financial crime---and hence the attractiveness of theft---is likely to increase with smart wallets. This could spur new forms of theft, violence and other crimes. However, the market testing of technologies in Japan may be inappropriate for crime-proofing purposes, because of Japan’s low crime rate. The criminogenic potential of smart card and mobile smart wallet technologies warrants further examination. If policing is to avoid a potential crime problem, discussions with manufacturers should begin before the problem takes hold.