Fraud
Fraud is intentional deception for unlawful gain or deprivation of rights.
Fraud is intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. It can violate civil law, criminal law, or be an element of another wrong, and its purpose may be monetary gain or other benefits such as obtaining a passport or driver's licence. Fraud is recognized across legal systems as both a civil wrong (tort) and a criminal act, with varying definitions and penalties.
- field
- Law
- known_for
- Intentional deception for unlawful gain or deprivation of rights
- civil_remedies
- Rescission, monetary compensation, punitive damages
- criminal_penalties
- Fines, imprisonment, or both
- common_elements
- Intentional misrepresentation or concealment of an important fact, reliance, detriment
Lore & Background
In common law jurisdictions, civil fraud is a tort requiring intentional misrepresentation or concealment of an important fact upon which the victim relies to their detriment. Proving fraud carries a greater evidentiary burden than other civil claims, and some jurisdictions require clear and convincing evidence. Fraud may serve as a defense in contract actions or as a basis for equitable remedies such as rescission.
Reader's Guide
Criminal fraud takes many forms, including theft by false pretense, bank fraud, insurance fraud, and forgery. The general elements of theft by false pretense are intentional deception by false representation, intent to persuade the victim to part with property, reliance by the victim, and the perpetrator's intent to keep the property. In the Philippines, fraud (estafa) carries imprisonment from six months to twenty years. The UK's Fraud Act 2006 defines three classes of fraud and provides for up to ten years' imprisonment on conviction on indictment. Detection methods include predictive analytics, Benford's Law, and time-series analysis.
Did You Know?
- Fraud can be committed to obtain a passport, travel document, or driver's licence, not just money.
- Internal fraud, or insider fraud, is committed by someone within an organization such as an employee.
- In the Philippines, fraud is called 'estafa', derived from the Spanish word 'estafar' meaning 'to swindle or defraud'.
- A hoax involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or materially damaging a victim.
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