Crime, Law & Social Change (2005) 44: 251–275 DOI: 10.1007/s10611-006-9006-8 C  Springer 2006 Sociolegal change in consumer fraud: From victim-offender interactions to global networks KRISTY HOLTFRETER ∗ , SHANNA VAN SLYKE and THOMAS G. BLOMBERG The Florida State University, College of Criminology & CJ, 634 W. Call Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32306–1127, USA (e-mail: kholtfre@fsu.edu) Abstract. Advances in technology have transformed fraud against consumers from face-to- face, victim-offender interactions to a crime that now transcends international boundaries. Although consumer protection issues have been of interest to investigative journalists and literary scholars for centuries, the topic has only recently been subject to serious criminological inquiry. Employing the American consumer protection movement as an historical framework, we examine the evolution of consumer fraud. Our review documents that progressive social and legal changes in consumer protection and corporate regulation, as well as developments in criminological research, correspond to prominent literary expos´ es of the time. In today’s technological age, such a reactive response to consumer fraud is neither efficient nor effective. Contemporary criminologists need to simultaneously address the questions of ‘how’ fraud is perpetrated and ‘why’ it occurs. Toward this end, we identify methodological strategies and data sources to promote empirical and theoretical understanding of consumer fraud, and to ultimately contribute to multi-national crime control policy. 1.Introduction According to recent estimates, nearly a third of the U.S. adult population was victimized by some form of consumer fraud in 2004 (Anderson, 2004). Losses attributed to consumer fraud are estimated to range from $400 million to over $100 billion U.S. dollars annually (Norrgard and Norrgard, 1998). Moreover, consumer fraud has become a global concern due to increased criminal oppor- tunities offered through technological advances (e.g., the Internet), which are heightened during periods of natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes and terrorist attacks). Unfortunately, criminological understanding and response strategies have not developed at a corresponding rate (Chawla, 2004; Clark, 2004; Pocar, 2004). To date, criminologists have devoted only limited research attention to consumer fraud. Knowledge has been hindered, in part, by difficulties associ- ated with obtaining data, a common problem in the broader white-collar crime literature. This data void is problematic, especially considering that incidence of consumer fraud will likely increase with advances in technology. To better