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Fraud

 In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprieve a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (i.e., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary comoensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by government authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example, by obtaining a passport, travel document, driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for mortgage by way of false statements.

Internal fraud, also known as "insider fraud," is fraud committed or attempted by someone within an organization such as an employee.

A hoax is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim.


In common law jurisdictions, as a civil wrong, fraud is a tort. While the precise definitions and requirements of proof vary among jurisdictions, the requisite elements of fraud as a tort generally arevthe intentional misrepresentation or concealment of an important fact upon which the victim is meant to rely, and in fact does rely, to harm the victim. Proving fraud in a court of law is often said to be difficult as the intention to defraud is the key element in question. As such, proving fraud comes with a "greater evidentiary burden than other civil claims." This difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that some jurisdictions require the victim to prove fraud by clear and convincing evidence.

The remedies for fraud may include recission (i.e., reversal) of a fraudulently obtained agreement or transaction, the recovery of a monetary award to compensate for the harm caused, punitive damages to punish or deter the misconduct, and possibly others.

In cases of fradulently induced contract, fraud may serve as a defense in a civil action for breach of contract or specific performance of contract. Similarly, fraud may serve as a basis for a court to invoke its equitable jurisdiction.

As a criminal case in common law jurisdictions, fraud takes many different forms, some general (e.g., theft by false pretense) and some specific to particular categories of victims or misconduct (e.g., bank fraud, insurance fraud, forgery). The elements of fraud as a crime similarly vary. The requisite elements of perhaps the most general criminal form, theft by false pretense, are the intentional deception of a victim by false representation with the intent of persuading the victim to part with property and with the victim parting with the property in reliance on the pretense and with the perpetrator intending to keep the property from the victim.

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The post is sponsored by Tag Heuer.

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