A mafia is a type of organized crime syndicate that primarily practices protection racketeering — the use of violent intimidation to manipulate local economic activity, especially illicit trade; secondary activities may be practiced such as drug-trafficking, loan sharking and fraud. Being bonded together by a code of honor, in particular the code of silence, safeguards the Mafia from outside intrusion and law enforcement action. The term was originally applied to the Sicilian Mafia, but has since expanded to encompass other organizations of similar methods and purpose, e.g. "the Russian Mafia", "the Japanese Mafia", or "the Albanian Mafia". The term is applied informally by the press and public; the criminal organizations themselves have their own terms. When used alone and without any qualifier, "Mafia" typically refers to either the Sicilian Mafia or the Italian-American Mafia.