fraud

/frɑd/

/frɔd/

Other forms: frauds

A fraud is a something that deceives or tricks another person, usually to get their money. Frauds are dishonest.

A fraud is something that sounds too good to be true — because it isn't. If you're promised millions of dollars by anyone on the Internet, that's got to be a fraud. Anyone trying to sell you a bridge is committing fraud. Identity theft is a type of fraud. Democrats and Republicans frequently accuse the other party of fraud when it comes to counting votes. You can also tell a person who is fake or an impostor is a fraud.

Definitions of fraud

1. noun

   intentional deception resulting in injury to another person
   types:

   barratry

   (maritime law) a fraudulent breach of duty by the master of a ship that injures the owner of the ship or its cargo; includes every breach of trust such as stealing or sinking or deserting the ship or embezzling the cargo

   identity theft

   the co-option of another person's personal information (e.g., name, Social Security number, credit card number, passport) without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge

   mail fraud

   use of the mails to defraud someone

   election fraud

   misrepresentation or alteration of the true results of an election

   constructive fraud, legal fraud

   comprises all acts or omissions or concealments involving breach of equitable or legal duty or trust or confidence

   collateral fraud, extrinsic fraud

   fraud that prevents a party from knowing their rights or from having a fair opportunity of presenting them at trial

   fraud in fact, positive fraud

   actual deceit; concealing something or making a false representation with an evil intent to cause injury to another

   fraud in the factum

   fraud that arises from a disparity between the instrument intended to be executed and the instrument actually executed; e.g., leading someone to sign the wrong contract

   fraud in the inducement

   fraud which intentionally causes a person to execute and instrument or make an agreement or render a judgment; e.g., misleading someone about the true facts

   intrinsic fraud

   fraud (as by use of forged documents or false claims or perjury) that misleads a court or jury and induces a finding for the one perpetrating the fraud

   cheat, rig, swindle

   the act of swindling by some fraudulent scheme

   cozenage, scam

   a fraudulent business scheme

   fraud in law

   fraud that is presumed from the circumstances although the one who commits it need not have had any evil intent

   bunco, bunco game, bunko, bunko game, con, con game, confidence game, confidence trick, flimflam, hustle, sting

   (offensive) a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property

   pyramiding

   a fraudulent business practice involving some form of pyramid scheme e.g., the chain of distribution is artificially expanded by an excessive number of distributors selling to other distributors at progressively higher wholesale prices until retail prices are unnecessarily inflated

   holdout

   the act of hiding playing cards in a gambling game so they are available for personal use later

   swiz

   British slang for a swindle

   shell game, thimblerig

   a swindling sleight-of-hand game; victim guesses which of three things a pellet is under

   type of:

   crime, criminal offence, criminal offense, law-breaking, offence, offense

   (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
2. noun

   something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
   synonyms: dupery, fraudulence, hoax, humbug, put-on

   types:

   goldbrick

   anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless

   type of:

   chicane, chicanery, guile, shenanigan, trickery, wile

   the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
3. noun

   a person who makes deceitful pretenses
   synonyms: fake, faker, humbug, imposter, impostor, pretender, pseud, pseudo, role player, sham, shammer

   types:

   name dropper

   someone who pretends that famous people are his/her friends

   ringer

   a contestant entered in a competition under false pretenses

   type of:

   beguiler, cheat, cheater, deceiver, slicker, trickster

   someone who leads you to believe something that is not true