fraudulent

Definition of fraudulent

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin fraudulentus, from fraus.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈfr�"ː.djʊ.lənt/, SAMPA: /"frO:.djU.l@nt/

Adjective

fraudulent (comparative more fraudulent, superlative most fraudulent)

1. dishonest; based on fraud or deception
2. false; phony
   
   He tried to pass a fraudulent check.

Further reading

Types of fraudulent acts

Fraud can be committed through many media, including mail, wire, phone, and the Internet (computer crime and Internet fraud). The international dimensions of the web and ease with which users can hide their location, the difficulty of checking identity and legitimacy online, and the simplicity with which crackers can divert browsers to dishonest sites and steal credit card details have all contributed to the very rapid growth of Internet fraud.

Types of criminal fraud include:

• Advance-fee fraud
• Bait and switch
• Bankruptcy fraud
• Benefit fraud, committing fraud to get government benefits
• Counterfeiting of currency, documents or valuable goods
• Charlatanism
• Confidence tricks such as the 419 fraud and Spanish Prisoner
• Creation of false companies or "long firms"
• Embezzlement, taking money which one has been entrusted with on behalf of another party
• False advertising
• False billing
• False insurance claims
• Forgery of documents or signatures
• Franchise fraud where the real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the sale of new franchise licenses.
• Fraud upon the court
• Health fraud, for example selling of products known not to be effective, such as quack medicines
• Identity theft
• Insurance fraud
• Investment frauds, such as Ponzi schemes and Pyramid schemes
• Marriage fraud to obtain immigration rights without entitlement
• Moving scam
• Religious fraud
• Rigged gambling games such as the shell game
• Securities frauds such as pump and dump
• Tax fraud, not reporting revenue or illegally avoiding taxes. In some countries, tax fraud is also prosecuted under false billing or tax forgery

There are also types of fraud which do not necessarily entail criminal activity, such as:

• Unconscious fraud, such as fraud committed by a hypnotised person or perhaps a medium in a trance