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Example: 'If you don't send 1m euros to the following numbered account the press will hear all your dirty little secrets!'

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Example: You will get an extra 1000 euros in an envelope every week if you let our shipments through without delay or customs inspection

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What Is Fraud?

Fraud is an intentionally deceptive action designed to provide the perpetrator with an unlawful gain or to deny a right to a victim. Types of fraud include tax fraud, credit card fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and bankruptcy fraud. Fraudulent activity can be carried out by one individual, multiple individuals or a business firm as a whole.

Fraud Explained

Fraud involves the false representation of facts, whether by intentionally withholding important information or providing false statements to another party for the specific purpose of gaining something that may not have been provided without the deception.

Often, the perpetrator of fraud is aware of information that the intended victim is not, allowing the perpetrator to deceive the victim. At heart, the individual or company committing fraud is taking advantage of information asymmetry; specifically, the resource cost of reviewing and verifying that information can be significant enough to create a disincentive to fully invest in fraud prevention.

Both states and the federal government have laws that criminalize fraud, though fraudulent actions may not always result in a criminal trial. Government prosecutors often have substantial discretion in determining whether a case should go to trial and may pursue a settlement instead if this will result in a speedier and less costly resolution. If a fraud case goes to trial, the perpetrator may be convicted and sent to jail.

Legal Considerations

While the government may decide that a case of fraud can be settled outside of criminal proceedings, non-governmental parties that claim injury may pursue a civil case. The victims of fraud may sue the perpetrator to have funds recovered, or, in a case where no monetary loss occurred, may sue to reestablish the victim's rights.

Proving that fraud has taken place requires the perpetrator to have committed specific acts. First, the perpetrator has to provide a false statement as a material fact. Second, the perpetrator had to have known that the statement was untrue. Third, the perpetrator had to have intended to deceive the victim. Fourth, the victim has to demonstrate that they relied on the false statement. And fifth, the victim had to have suffered damages as a result of acting on the intentionally false statement.

Types of Financial Fraud

Common individual mortgage fraud schemes include identity theft and income/asset falsification, while industry professionals may use appraisal frauds and air loans to dupe the system. The most common investor mortgage fraud schemes are different types of property flipping, occupancy fraud, and the straw buyer scam.

Fraud also occurs in the insurance industry. Thoroughly reviewing an insurance claim may take so many hours that an insurer may determine that a more cursory review is warranted considering the size of the claim. Knowing this, an individual may file a small claim for a loss that didn't really occur. The insurer may decide to pay the claim without thoroughly investigating since the claim is small. In this case, insurance fraud has been conducted.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) describes securities fraud as criminal activity that can include high yield investment fraud, Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, advanced fee schemes, foreign currency fraud, broker embezzlement, pump-and-dumps, hedge fund related fraud, and late-day trading. In many cases, the fraudster seeks to dupe investors through misrepresentation and to manipulate financial markets in some way. These crimes are characterized by providing false or misleading information, withholding key information, purposefully offering bad advice, and offering or acting on inside information.

Consequences of Financial Fraud

Fraud can have a devastating impact on a business. In 2001, a massive corporate fraud was uncovered at Enron, a U.S.-based energy company. Executives used a variety of techniques to disguise the company's financial health, including the deliberate obfuscation of revenue and misrepresentation of earnings. After the fraud was uncovered, shareholders saw share prices plummet from around $90 to less than $1 in a little over a year. Company employees had their equity wiped out and lost their jobs after Enron declared bankruptcy. The Enron scandal was a major driver behind the regulations found in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed in 2002.

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What Is Fraud? Definition, Types, and Consequences

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Fraud, in a general sense, is purposeful deceit designed to provide the perpetrator with unlawful gain or to deny a right to a victim.

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The capturing of a person (whose family is rich) and demanding money in return for releasing them

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Killing someone

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Sex imposed without consent

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unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person's will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication,... See the full definition

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The entering into a country, illicitly or illegally, of products or substances, without declaring them to the customs and excise (tax) authorities

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The following and invasion of private space of a person (usually famous) by a fan who is obsessed

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Taken into police custody, handcuffed

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Arrested by the police

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Brought before a judge and legally accused of a crime, and granted bail or jailed
Grant bail- when the defendant can pay to not stay in prison

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Do criminal activity

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Absolved: Found to be innocent of the charges. Charges dropped

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Where a trial is held to determine the guilt or innocence of the person tried or accused of the crime

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The two fundamental concepts that a trial tries to determine

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The judge rules the court and determines the sentence. The jury are 12 people from the public who determine if the defendant is guilty or innocent

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The material evidence which determines guilt or innocence. Guilt must be proved by evidence.

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The verdict is the final determination by the jury and the sentence is given by the judge if guilt is proven

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Prison/jail/gaol for serious crimes and community service for light offences

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People who saw the crime

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Along with DNA they are the most damning / conclusive evidence to prove connection to a crime. Everyone has unique fingerprints and unique DNA

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It is said that..
he is thought to..

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Hailed as the greatest pickpocket in the world, Apollo Robbins studies the quirks of human behavior as he steals your watch. In a hilarious demonstration, Robbins samples the buffet of the TEDGlobal 2013 audience, showing how the flaws in our perception make it possible to swipe a wallet and leave it on its owner's shoulder while they remain clueless.