Fraud

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Part of the common law series
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Fraud  · Tortious interference
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In the broadest sense, a fraud is a deception made for personal gain, although it has a more specific legal meaning, the exact details varying between jurisdictions. Many hoaxes are fraudulent, although those not made for personal gain are not best described in this way. Not all frauds are hoaxes - electoral fraud, for example. Fraud permeates many areas of life, including art, archaelogogy and science. In the broad legal sense a fraud is any crime or civil wrong for gain that utilises some deception practiced on the victim as its principal method.

In criminal law, fraud is the crime or offense of deliberately deceiving another in order to damage them — usually, to obtain property or services from him or her unjustly. [1]. Fraud can be accomplished through the aid of forged objects. In criminal law it is called "theft by deception." Fraud can be committed through many methods, including mail, wire, phone, and the Internet.

Acts which may constitute criminal fraud include:

Fraud, in addition to being a criminal act, is also a type of civil law violation known as a tort. A tort is a civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. A civil fraud typically involves the act of making a false representation of a fact susceptible of actual knowledge which is relied upon by another person, to that person's detriment.

English Law

In England and Wales fraud is a generic term used to describe a number of offences in which the overriding component is that of deception. There are allied torts at civil law such as Conversion.

Each of the criminal offences have a further common element of dishonesty, although in some there is no requirement that the dishonest person is intent on gaining himself, it is sufficient that he has an intent to cause to loss to another.

The criminal offences of fraud are to be found, principally, in the Theft Act 1968, the Theft Act 1978 and the Theft (Amendment) Act 1996 which created the new offence of Obtaining a Money Transfer by Deception. More specific offences may be found in other statutes such as Impersonation of a Police Officer as defined in Sec. 90 of the Police Act 1996; or Using a Forged Instrument within the terms of the Forgery & Counterfeiting Act 1981 (previously an offence known under the somewhat prosaic term of "Uttering").

Criminal offences of fraud at English Law:

  • Obtaining Property by Deception
  • Obtaining Services by Deception
  • Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception
  • False Accounting
  • False Statements by Company Directors
  • Suppression of Documents
  • Retaining a Wrongful Credit

Known and alleged fraudsters and various forms of fraud

Topics relating to Abuse.
By means

Physical abuse
Torture / Severe Corporal punishment

Psychological abuse
Humiliation / Intimidation / Bullying
Hate speech / Manipulation / Stalking

Sexual abuse
Sexual assault / Rape
Sexual harassment

By victim

Child abuse / Domestic violence
Prisoner abuse / Elder abuse
Animal abuse

By offender

Police brutality
Human experimentation

See also

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