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What Is Fraud?
By Laura Quarantiello © 2004 Tiare Publications Group The first crime of theft to be defined in English history was larceny: the misappropriation of another person's property through the taking of that property from the possession and without the consent of the owner. In those days people who used fraud, misrepresentation and general sleight-of-hand to conduct business and appropriate property were not considered thieves. English common law did not view fraud as an act of larceny, believing instead that if a man could employ such techniques, he wasn't a criminal; he was just smarter than the other guy. A man who could outwit others to his own benefit was grudgingly respected. He was an ingenious businessman, and those who lost on the deal were simply inferior businessmen. Thus, if a man bought a horse that turned out to be a hopeless, slow-witted nag, it was his own fault for being a poor judge of horseflesh. The seller, even though he may have touted the animal as a thoroughbred, was held to be innocent of wrongdoing. As times changed fraud was eventually seen as a form of larceny. Today there are two types of fraud generally defined by law: actual fraud and constructive fraud. Actual fraud is intentional criminal deception for the purpose of inducing another person to part with something of value, to acquire something of less than apparent value or to surrender a legal right. Constructive fraud is words, acts or omissions that tend to mislead, deceive or violate a confidence, but are not essentially of malicious intent. The law usually considers fraud a white-collar crime, which was defined by Congress as "an illegal act or series of illegal acts committed by non-physical means and by concealment or guile, to obtain money or property, to avoid the payment or loss of money or property, or to obtain personal or business advantage." White-collar crime includes credit card, bankruptcy, social security and insurance fraud, embezzlement, securities and government fraud, tax violations, deceptive advertising, housing fraud, advance fee and phony contest swindles, chain letters, home improvement and debt erasure scams, pyramid clubs, land fraud, charity and religious fraud, and dozens of others. Laura Quarantiello hates criminals and the crimes they commit. Her book "On Guard" can help you minimize the risk you family faces from criminal elements. Get more information at: www.tiare.com/onguard.htm
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