For the past few minutes after receiving so many collections calls for unpaid CC balances still owed by TPTB, I’ve been researching key words via Google on: fraud, defraud, district attorney, etc.
I found wikipedia.org to be a starting point for the word fraud:
In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and is also a civil law violation. Many hoaxes are fraudulent, although those not made for personal gain are not technically frauds. Defrauding people of money is presumably the most common type of fraud, but there have also been many fraudulent “discoveries” in art, archaeology, and science.
Then I came across `Types of fraudulent acts`:
Fraud can be committed through many methods, including mail, wire, phone, and the internet (computer crime and internet fraud). The difficulty of checking identity and legitimacy online, and the ease with which hackers can divert browsers to dishonest sites and steal credit card details, the international dimensions of the web and ease with which users can hide their location, all contribute to making internet fraud the fastest growing area of fraud.
Acts which may constitute criminal fraud include:
- confidence fraud, such as the 419 fraud, Spanish Prisoner, and the shell game.
Furthermore, I pulled out more familiar areas of interest that both the authorities and government officials may wish to further examine:
- Romance scam – gaining romantic relationship with a victim and then using that goodwill to commit fraud.
- Social engineering – Techniques used to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.
- Sting operation – confidence tricks used for the purpose of law enforcement.
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