It would be almost impossible to find a South African who has not been affected by crime in one way or another. “White-collar crime,” a term first used by Edwin Sutherland in 1939, describes crime that is non-violent but aimed at personal financial gain. This type of crime, including fraud and corruption, is becoming a more serious problem in South Africa every year and is negatively affecting the country as a whole. Although not violent, fraud and corruption cause as much damage as any other type of crime, and great efforts must be made immediately to put an end to them. Financial crimes are wreaking havoc all over the world. People have been scamming others, taking bribes, and doing other greedy things forever. This is human nature, but in today's society it is unacceptable. In a single financial year (2012/2013), the South African government's Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) recovered more than R1.1 billion from the illicit economy. This money came from the proceeds of fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, corruption and other financial crimes. A billion rand may seem like a lot, and its recovery is a great achievement, but it is only a fraction of what was lost. No one knows how much has not been recovered, but it can be assumed to be in the billions. Fraud is not easy to detect, and criminals have gotten away with it for decades. With the birth of the Internet, it became even easier to scam people, communicate with other criminals all over the world, and hide your profits. It was only in 2008 that South Africa established its financial intelligence center to combat white-collar crime. Most financial crimes in South Africa are international, which is why the FIC collaborates with global organizations like the Fin...... middle of paper ......rhyme. “Corruption Watch.” Define the true meaning of corruption. Sunday Times, The (Johannesburg, South Africa), February 3, 2013. Accessed March 2, 2014. http://infoweb.newsbank.com.libdb.belmont-hill.org:2048/iw-search/we/InfoWeb? p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=14440CF59A86A640&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=6. " Country ". Financial Action Task Force. Accessed February 27, 2014. http://www.fatf-gafi.org/countries/. “Jordan, South Africa and Tunisia are joining the movement. » International Transparency. Last modified December 18, 2013. Accessed March 1, 2014. http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/jordan_south_africa_and_tunisia_join_the_movement. “South Africa Country Profile.” Anti-corruption portal for businesses. Accessed March 1, 2014. http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/sub-saharan-africa/south-africa/general-information.aspx.