Fraud

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Fraud is, roughly, the crime or offense of deliberately deceiving another in order to damage them -- usually, to obtain property or services from him unjustly. [1] Forms of criminal fraud include confidence tricks such as the 419 fraud; false advertising; identity theft; forgery of documents or signatures; the selling of products of spurious use, such as quack medicines; creation of false companies or "long firms"; false insurance claims; and securities frauds such as pump and dump.

Fraud is also a type of civil law violation known as a tort. A tort is a a wrong for which the injured party may bring a suit in court for damages in the form of monetary compensation. 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 to his or her detriment.

See also:

• Accounting scandals
• Creative accounting
• Political corruption
• Nigerian money transfer fraud (419 fraud)
• The National Council Against Health Fraud An American private nonprofit, health agency.
• Ponzi scheme
• Phishing
• Spanish Prisoner
• Questioned document examination