To determine the meaning of fraud
Fraud is an intentional act done to deceive a person. It is an intentional and misleading representation about a material fact, which when believed and acted upon by the victim, damages the victim.
There is no organized way to report fraud in most cases. Instead of seeking justice and punishing the fraud perpetrators, victims are more often concerned about the embarrassment of fraud publicly.
The necessary elements of fraud are:
(a) Misrepresentation of material fact: A materially false statement is made and the gravity of the statement could substantially affect the victim’s decision and action.
(b) Knowing it to be false: The perpetrator knows the falsehood of the statement before making it.
(c) Intention to deceive: The false statement is made with an intention to influence and deceive the victim.
(d) Using information for decision-making: The false statement or information is used by the victim in his/her analysis for decision-making.
(e) Loss: The victim suffers some loss due to such misrepresentation.