All You Need To Know About Fraud
Criminal
Fraud is not only a criminal issue, but also a civil issue. Criminal fraud is prosecuted and the end result may be prison time. The typical purpose of fraud is to defraud individuals or groups of money or valuables, but sometimes criminal fraud also involves receiving benefits with stolen money or valuables.
What is Fraud? Legal Definition
intent to deceive or defraud a victim
Fraud means a false representation of fact though the use of words or in conduct. Also considered as fraud is misleading accusations and concealment of facts that should be disclosed. Fraud is deliberately deceiving with the intention of securing an unfair, or unlawful gain or benefit.
Fraud comes in different varieties, some like theft by false pretense are common and others are at targeted victims like bank fraud, insurance fraud, or forgery. While the ingredients of fraud vary, the elements for convicting someone of fraud include:
- The intent to deceive or defraud a victim through false representation, or
- The intent of persuading a victim to release property while relying on the representations of the perpetrator.
Understanding Identity Theft And Fraud
What Is Identity Fraud
Identity theft is not something new. It’s as old as time itself. In fact, there are stories form Wild West days of outlaws murdering people and taking the identities of their victims, helping them avoid the law.
Today, technology has made it easier for criminals to identity theft easier to commit on a broad scale. Hacking private and government organizations and stealing personal information of millions at a go. They then commit crimes with the stolen information. Criminals can steal personal information in several ways which include:
- Phishing: Intended victims are emailed by fraudsters with the aim of tricking the recipient to take action that might give criminals access to personal information.
- Malware: Fraudsters trick victims into downloading free software from the internet. However, victims don’t realize that the free software can include malicious malware that grants the criminals access to computers or entire networks.
- Other tactics: Two simple ways criminals can commit identity theft is through mail theft and dumpster diving. This allows access to documents that can be used in stealing other people’s identities.
What Is Identity Fraud?
Identity theft and fraud basically refer to the same crime. However, one can make the case that fraud is the actual use of the stolen information for criminal gain. The long list of identity fraud crimes include:
- Credit Card Fraud: This involves the use of a person’s credit card number to make fraudulent purchases.
- Employment or Tax-related Fraud: This involves using someone else’s social security number and other personal information to gain employment of file and income tax return.
- Bank Fraud: Using a person’s personal information in taking over a person or organization’s financial account or opening a new account in someone else’s name.
- Phone or utilities. Open a cell phone or utility account with another person’s personal information.
- Loan or lease Fraud: Obtaining a loan or lease using someone else’s personal information.
- Government documents or benefits frauds: Using another person’s personal information to obtain government benefits.
Criminal Behavior
Identity theft laws across the UAE cover a wide range of behaviors. However, at their core is the crime of using the personal identifying information of a person without any consent or permission and for the purpose of gain. There are many ways identity theft can occur:
- Someone steals another person wallet or purse to obtain personal information and credit cards
- A stranger sees a person dropping their card, picks it up, and decides to use it to buy something.
- Someone steals a person’s driver’s license and hands it to a police officer in the event they are pulled over for speeding or when arrested.
- Someone sends an email posing as a member of the IRS and directs you to submit personal information to be audited.
- Someone gains access to your email account and finds personal identifying information.
- Someone steals your email and goes through garbage looking for bills or statements that may contain personal information as well as account numbers.
Business Fraud
“Fraud vitiates every transaction”
This old legal adage refers to the fact that wherever fraud occurs, legal action is not far off. When fraud rears its ugly head, a legal option exists, whether a specific law is not on the books or case in the common law. It is not legally possible to agree to a fraud or criminal behavior, there is it impossible to wholly enforce a fraudulent transaction. Furthermore, evidence of fraud is always admitted to court, even it that type of evidence will not be accepted In some situations.
Business Fraud Attorneys
The law does not discriminate when it comes to people, and so you shouldn’t. If you have experienced fraud in any form, you should contact an attorney to understand how the fraud has affected your rights and obligations.
In a broad sense, fraud is the number one to the free markets. In the UAE, fraud carries both civil and criminal penalties. If another person commits fraud against you, they may not be liable to just you, but criminally liable to the state.
If you are facing a fraudulent situation, you can always take legal action, even if no specific law that necessarily addresses the specific situation. Business fraud are in three types, which are fraud in the factum, fraud in the execution. and fraud as a matter of law.
intent to mislead
Fraud in the factum, which is also known as inducement occurs when the actual terms of the deal are misleading and are son because of an intent to mislead. If the defendant misinterpreted an important fact or facts, with the intention of misleading you, and as a result,you acted reasonably based on this misrepresentation. This is referred to as a fraud in the factum. To put it plainly, there must have been lies about something important from the defendant, but you were quick to avoid believing such lie.
Fraud in the execution is when the interaction of the parties to a deal are dishonest and induce something you normally wouldn’t do. For instance, if someone requests an autograph, but then goes on to draw a promissory note around your autograph, it is called fraud in the execution.
