Least-Cost Avoiders in Online Fraud and Abuse

Edelman, Benjamin. “Least-Cost Avoiders in Online Fraud and Abuse.” IEEE Security & Privacy 8, no. 4 (July-August 2010): 78-81.

Web users face considerable fraud, malfeasance, and economic harm that system operators could prevent or mitigate. Although the legal system can respond, regulations have mixed results. I examine the applicable legal rules that constrain online fraud and the economic underpinnings to identify whether those rules assign responsibility to the parties best positioned to take action.