Do you think that criminals are more creative than us?

@scheng1 (24650)
Singapore
July 3, 2009 12:03am CST
Today the newspaper mentions that many criminals make use of innocent gamers for money laundering activities. They buy the game account, gold or equipment from gamers playing in those popular online games. Then they sell away the game accounts, gold and equipments at lower rate. Even though they lose some money, they can launder money this way without leaving a paper trail. Sometimes I think that those criminals are really good at coming up with creative ideas, much better than most of us who are honest and hardworking employees. How I wish they can put their talents into creating something better and beneficial to society. What do you think? Do you think that those criminals are more creative than us?
5 people like this
15 responses
@lampar (7584)
• United States
3 Jul 09
Of course , criminals are very creative and smart than most of us who are honest n hard working folks; that is one of the reason they want to become criminals because they like to make use of their creativity and talent to make easy money at the expense of others. If the criminals used it on the society, then it will not profit them greatly and got them recognize as creative people, that will be a great waste of their talents.
2 people like this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Lampar, if they can use their creativity and talent to benefit more people, they will feel happier even though they may not make as much money. I think we should learn to use our brains better, for the right things. Otherwise one day we will become a victim of those criminals, and still be very poor, and have to work even harder.
1 person likes this
@lampar (7584)
• United States
3 Jul 09
Yes, using our talent to benefit the society will make us happier is because we are honest people. But for criminals, they are happier when they see their creativity n talent are used to fool the law and cheat honest people like us , and will be the happiest people on earth if they profit from it. Nothing other than that will them happy, it is just the way it works for them.
2 people like this
@lampar (7584)
• United States
4 Jul 09
But in western culture, it is always a honor for a child to have a criminal parent, like the case of mafia and unionized gangster organization. Majority of these criminals not only have father as head of the criminal organization, all the family members especially son also are members and anointed heir later on, it is seldom a father figure criminal will stop using his creativity to commit crimes later on because of worry it will affect his image among his children, most of them hardly care about that as the money from his criminal activities is way too big to demotivate them from doing so.
1 person likes this
@nitu1952 (286)
• India
3 Jul 09
yes i think that criminal are more creative than us there minds are very sharp then us. they first thought and they they go ahead and ahead. as americans are more at risk from police than they are from criminals. they will make all efforts to dissapear from the eyes of police.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Nitu, I think those masterminds are very smart too. Everyone in the city will know that they are the top gangsters, yet nobody has any evidence to convict them. And yes, those white collar criminals are very, very creative. Most of them are not caught. If we have half their creativity, we will be rich enough to retire early.
@rsa101 (37968)
• Philippines
3 Jul 09
Never thought of that one scheme. Well too bad they are using their creative juices on such and endeavor. If they can just shift those talents of their to other productive and non criminal activities they could live more freely in life that what they are doing now.
2 people like this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Rsa, I think most gamers will not even suspect anything wrong when they sell their account for a few hundred bucks. As a gamer, I know there are many gamers who have one main id, and use that main id to train up another id. Sometimes they open two windows. The main purpose is to sell the small id. I doubt they know that they are inadvertedly supporting criminal activity. It's a pity that such clever criminals do not want to use their talents in other productive activities, for our benefits.
@sona22 (1430)
• India
3 Jul 09
Not all but some criminals are very creative, intelligent and smart. How we can forgot Charles Sobraj? I think that our soe product of IT industry is wholly dependent on the creativity of the Criminals. Example? The Anti-virous software companies will be closed if the criminals stop their activities of virous spreading, collecting information from our computers etc. etc.
@cannibal (650)
• India
3 Jul 09
For once, I'd have to say yes. Not just creativity, they have greater brains too. A perfect example would be that of an unethical hacker. Hackers, acoording to me are one of the best brains of contemporary times. Here, there was a man named Harshad Mehta, who duped the Indian banks of crores. He's known as the biggest scamster of India and they say he made a real huge amount of study and research of Indian banks before finally hurling the gauntlet. Shows how 'dedicated' they are. Fetch the newspaper and every trick of conman-ship is a product of out-of-the-box thinking and un-imaginable predictions of the human psychology. And imagine, for nabbing such people we'd require even bigger 'criminals' by this yardstick. Check the terrorists too. They're smarter and more' techno-fied'. Sadly the rule of survival of the wicked-est prevails these days!
2 people like this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Cannibal, I do not think that hackers are smart. They are leaving behind a trail that allows them to be caught. And besides thrill and excitement, they do not gain anything. Those criminals who get caught are not the smartest of all. Those criminals who never get caught are the smart ones. And they are unlikely to tell the newspaper about their tricks, so they can benefit from their crime forever and ever. I must say this person who started to make use of online gamers for money laundering is really creative. Almost no paper trail and no electronic trail are available for police to investigate. Just so fortunate that police manages to bust someone, and discovers the trick
• India
3 Jul 09
no one is born a criminal.so the point is that criminals are not more creative.the fact is that more intelligent men are becoming criminals now a days.and the only reason is the urge to earn money.money is driving the world now.its just a paper and here we are doing unethical things just for money .the only way to stop this is to bring up our child to be a honest men .atleast hte future generation would have less worrying about criminals
2 people like this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi naresh, you have a point. Probably criminals are sort of working for themselves, and want to make more money, that's why they are fearless in trying new things. Most of us working in corporations are not keen to suggest anything, just in case our workload increases, and the ideas fail. Maybe the criminals keep on trying out ideas, and that makes them become more creative than us.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
3 Jul 09
If criminals like that would put their efforts into legal enterprises, they would be wealthy--or a lot of them would. I don't understand it, they waste their creativity on destructive things that get them into trouble instead of improving things while they make money.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Dragon, I dont understand their mentality too. Most of them grow up in good families, and receive good education, yet they want to use their knowledge for criminal activities. I doubt any criminal without formal education will come up with the idea to use online gamers for money laundering activity. This idea must come out from those who are highly educated, and who enjoy playing computer games, and have enough illegal money in their pockets.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
3 Jul 09
Ha ha, no I do not! If they were so creative and resourceful they would not need to resort to crime in the first place.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Canellita, maybe they like the thrill of crime. Some people are like that, coming from good families, and with graduated with first class honors, yet they do not like the routine life of law-abiding citizens. They rather make money from criminal activities, and not pay tax. It's just too bad they never think far. If they have children and grandchildren, I doubt they want their children and grandchildren to know how they make their money, "blood" money
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
3 Jul 09
This is true and I hope you are right about them protecting their children from the knowledge of where the money comes from. There are certainly those who get off on the rush of doing what they are doing and not getting caught. For many it is even a game. I think some of this is often the result of boredom even though some is the result of living in poverty.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Canellita, most people change when they have children, including many ex-criminals. The paternal love or maternal love is enough to make them change for the better. I think most parents, even if they are criminals, do not want their children to know the illegal activities they engage. They also do not want their children to see police come and take them away.
1 person likes this
@Ritchelle (3790)
• Philippines
3 Jul 09
i heard in one crime investigation network episode that criminals and cops are the same. they talk alike, act alike and think alike. the only difference is the side they are on. so, when it comes to creativity they have equals not to mention having fate's blessings: the cops.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Ritchelle, there is one major difference between cops and criminals. Cops are restricted by the police organisation, and the budget. They cannot match the kind of money that crime syndicate has. I really admire the cops for their dedication to do the right things. And they have to be more creative than the criminals to catch them.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
4 Jul 09
Hi Ritchelle, personally I think the opposite is true. While the cops in the US have more advanced technology than many policemen around the world, they are hampered by the "freedom" and all the legalities. For example, they have to give the warning, and give the criminal a chance to get lawyer. They cannot just lock the criminals up and start to question them, otherwise they will lose the courtcase, if the criminals can get good defense lawyers. This kind of justice system really make the cops very careful.
1 person likes this
@Ritchelle (3790)
• Philippines
4 Jul 09
this is one situation now where the locality of the criminals plays a great part. i think in the united states the criminals there are quite unfortunate since their government is always one step ahead in research and funded equipment. criminals in countries not so rich as the u.s. are the fortunate ones since, sometimes, they are the ones one step ahead of the government in equipment, right?
1 person likes this
@PeacefulWmn9 (10420)
• United States
4 Jul 09
Hi Scheng. They're creative, for sure. Like you, I wish they'd put all that creativity to a better use. Most of us are creative. We just don't use it for evil purposes. Karen
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
7 Jul 09
Hi PeacefulWmn, it is a pity that they, the criminals, use their creativity to harm innocent people, and have to waste public resources to hunt them, and bring them to justice. It will be much better if all those creative minds are put to positive use, and to benefit mankind.
@amybrezik (2118)
• United States
3 Jul 09
I think that some of them are for sure. Doesn't make it right, but my brain doesn't work like most criminals, and yes some crimes call for quite a bit of creativity.
2 people like this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Amybrezik, I think those who never get caught are the really smart ones. Many police know the names of the famous bad guys, but they can never find any evidence to charge them. Those are the ones who are really smart. I think those who avoid getting caught, and are masterminds behind many gangs, are the smarter ones. Glad to hear that your "brain doesn't work like most criminals". Those criminals have really crooked brains
1 person likes this
@punkincat (214)
• United States
4 Jul 09
No I don't believe criminals are more creative than us . There is an old saying that Necessity is the mother of invention, if you had money you needed to launder then you would have come up with that idea or another one like it. How many times a day would you even think of money laundering or any other criminal activily. On the flip side have you ever come up with a better way to do your job, or fit in a lot of project into one day without breaking a sweat. Or how about making a dollar go real far or finding a cheap form of entertainment. All these skill require creative thinking they just don't make the news.
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
4 Jul 09
Hi Punkincat, sometimes I think the rules and regulations in the corporate world kills our creativity. Most of us are told not to rock the boat, and that we should follow the SOP. In that case, there is no need to be creative, and as time goes on, we really lose the courage to think and make changes. In this sense, probably the recession is good for us, force us to think and be creative.
• Japan
4 Jul 09
It depends on the person. Criminals can be creative. Just like an artist. Everyone has creativity. You just have to look around.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
4 Jul 09
Hi Partyboy, maybe criminals have more motivation to be creative. Most of us are very comforted in our daily routines, and we do not see any need to be creative. But for the criminals, either they are better than cops or they risk capture by the cops. Maybe the more they use their creativity cells, the more creative they are.
• China
3 Jul 09
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them." so human are creative, but how to use this characteristic.some use it to do good, but some do evil. so ,i think morality is most important of the characteristic of human.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Ruthzhoulu, Jesus also said that those wicked guys are as cunning as a snake, while his disciples are as pure as the dove. Probably the kind of environment influences people in their creativity. The more those criminals use their creativity cells, the more creative they are. Most of us working folks, hardly have chance to use our creativity cells.
• India
3 Jul 09
No they are very much dedicated to thier job, People who are dedicated to their work will definetly shine in thier field.
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
3 Jul 09
Hi Oprasad, that is a nice way to look at criminals. They are very much dedicated to the crimes, more than our dedication to our work! Too bad they are not dedicated to creating positive outcome for the people, if they can put in more effort for the benefits of mankind, that will be better. Anyway, I admire their creativity, even though I dont agree with criminal activities.