Somewhere along the line, holiday tipping went from an optional thank-you for a year of services to a Mafia-style protection racket.

一路走来，节日小费从对一年的服务表示感谢的选择变成了黑社会性质的勒索保护费。

youdao

"It was a protection racket just like those run 40 years ago in London's nightclubs, " says Michael Deats, detective superintendent of the U.K.'s National Hi-Tech Crime Unit.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

Opposition leader Tony Abbott accused Ms Gillard, who initially stood by Mr Thomson, of running a "protection racket" for him, says the BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney.

BBC: Australia MP arrested on 150 charges of fraud

At the time the consumer organisation Citizens Advice dubbed the sale of PPI policies a "protection racket", saying they were often too expensive and failed to provide the level of cover that customers thought they were getting.

BBC: Car dealers fined over insurance