FRAUD

FRAUD

Fraud involves obtaining property illegally by intentionally making a misrepresentation with the purpose of deceiving another party (e.g., a person, business or government). There are several categories of fraud, with penalties determined by the value of the property obtained by the fraudulent action.

Offences against Rights of Property

338. FRAUDULENTLY TAKING CATTLE OR DEFACING BRAND / Punishment for theft of cattle / Evidence of property in cattle / Presumption from possession.

341. FRAUDULENT CONCEALMENT. 342. THEFT, FORGERY, ETC., OF CREDIT

CARD / Jurisdiction. 361. FALSE PRETENCE / Exaggeration /

Question of fact.

Offences continued

362. FALSE PRETENCE OR FALSE STATEMENT / Punishment / Idem / Presumption from cheque issued without funds / Definition of "cheque".

363. OBTAINING EXECUTION OF VALUABLE SECURITY BY FRAUD

364. FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINING FOOD AND LODGING / Presumption / Definition of "cheque".

Crimes Against Society/Big Business

(they’ll never notice…)

Fraud generally falls into one of three catagories. Asset misappropriation – skimming sales,

fraudulent billing, false expenses, etc. Corruption – paying or accepting bribes,

conflicts of interest, etc. Fraudulent financial statements – falsifying

the records to make a company look better or worse than it is.

Examples of Fraud

Government fraud – in health care http://www.chcaa.org/education/cost_of_fraud.

php Occupational Fraud http://www.acfe.com/documents/rttn-canadian.pdf Internet Fraud http://www.419legal.org/blog

/2008/04/23/internet-fraud-in-canada-reports-predict-an-ominous-rise-in-online-crimes-in-canada/

You as the Victim of Fraud

Goal of a Scam/Fraud Get someone to part with something of value

(usually money) in a deceitful/dishonest way, giving little or nothing in return.

Common Characteristics of Fraud

1. Many people are targeted for a little money with the hope that they don’t notice, don’t care, or don’t do anything about it.

2. A trusted relationship is created 3. Promise of legitimacy, authenticity

4. Another offer or incentive to participate. There may be an effort to create information confusion – that is, attention is diverted from the scam/fraud by other information, issues or opportunities

5. Pressure is applied – often time pressure – e.g., need to hurry and make a quick decisionor take quick action, or the opportunity will be lost.

6. Offers exceptional/extraordinary gain with little or no risk.

7. There is a cap on the maximum level of participation.

8. Secrecy.

Common Schemes

West African Letter Scam Prime Bank Scheme Ponzi/Pyramid Scheme Affinity Fraud Offshore Investment Scam Internet Fraud Dating Scams

Assignment

Knowledge is the best defence

Become an expert about one type of fraud.

Present the result of your investigations to the rest of the class

How Fraud is determined

The following web site gives a good understanding of how fraud is determined, and how charges are laid.

http://www.rcmp-learning.org/iim/ecdi1018.htm