Fraud is the most common criminal offence that is committed in the UK. While fraud used to predominantly be carried out in person in markets, banks and a range of other public locations, today it is predominantly planned and executed in the digital realm. In many cases, these kinds of fraud are referred to as computer fraud. Here, we take a closer look at what that means, especially for someone’s first offence.
If you have been charged or expect that you will be charged in the near future, it’s imperative that you don’t use this information as legal advice. You must seek advice from a qualified criminal defence solicitor, who can help you navigate your situation based on the actual details of your personal circumstances.
The legal definition of computer fraud
Technically speaking, computer fraud doesn’t refer to a specific offence. Instead, it refers to fraudulent activity that is carried out online, through the use of a computer. As a result, computer fraud will typically be dealt with using a number of different Acts – primarily the Fraud Act 2006 and potentially the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
The Fraud Act is the main piece of legislation used to deal with fraud. According to the act, fraud occurs when someone intentionally lies or misrepresents a situation in order to bring about personal gain or cause loss to another. In most cases nowadays, this will at least partially be carried out online through the use of a computer or smartphone.
The Computer Misuse Act on the other hand is designed to deal with the unauthorised access and modification of data on a computer. Where this also includes the use of stolen data in order to carry out fraudulent activity, some kind of computer fraud can be said to have taken place.
Intention
One of the key elements around which most fraud cases revolve is intention. For fraud to have been committed, the defendant must have intended to misrepresent a situation, and not merely have done so accidentally.
This could be the difference between accidentally adding a zero at the end of your salary when applying for a loan, compared to intentionally falsifying your payslips to intentionally make it look like you make more money.
Examples of computer fraud
Computer fraud can be carried out in a wide range of different ways. A few examples could go as follows:
- A simple and common form of computer fraud could be listing an item for sale, on a website such as Facebook marketplace or even eBay, and upon receipt of payment, deleting the account and never sending the item.
- Credit card fraud is another common form of online fraud. In these cases, someone will lie to a bank in order to get access to credit they either aren’t eligible for or have no intention of paying back. Often this will involve using a stolen identity, which may result in a combination of offences under both the Fraud Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
- Computer hacking refers more generally to gaining unauthorised access to digitally stored information, often with the end goal of then using that information for personal gain. This can be done through the use of phishing techniques, or brute force attacks that ‘guess’ the passwords.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of examples. If an act sounds remotely fraudulent, and it was carried out using a computer, then there is a chance that it could count as an instance of computer fraud in the eyes of the law.
When is getting legal advice a good idea?
Many people incorrectly assume that they only need to look for legal advice if they’ve already been charged with a criminal offence. The law is almost always most effective if you can use it to avoid escalation within the criminal justice system, but this means acting sooner rather than later.
If you suspect that you may have been involved in fraudulent activities, it is always a good idea to speak with a criminal defence solicitor. They’ll be able to advise you on what will likely happen next, and depending on how matters escalate, potentially help you to develop a criminal defence and arrange for your representation in court by an experienced barrister.
Sentencing for computer fraud
Fraud is a serious criminal offence, but the exact sentence that you receive should you be found guilty can vary substantially, depending on the details of your case. If you’re sentenced under the Fraud Act, the maximum sentence you stand to receive is 10 years in prison.
However, you will only face a sentence anywhere near that long if you have been involved in a large criminal operation ,and occupied a position of power within a larger organisation.
That being said, even for a first-time offence, it’s still possible that you will face a custodial sentence and a hefty fine, depending on the extent of the fraud you’re involved in.
Impacting factors on sentencing
Your sentence will be determined in part by how culpable you are, and how much harm the court judges you to have caused.
Culpability
Culpability is established by assessing factors such as the role you played in the fraud, the number of victims, the motivations, the number of people defrauded, and how vulnerable the victims were.
Harm
In fraud cases, harm is relatively easy to assess – it is established based on the financial loss that was caused or intended to be caused. The most serious (category 1) offences will involve sums of £500,000 or more, while the least serious (category 5) offences will involve less than £5000.
It’s easy to overlook the severity of these often removed, non-violent crimes, but as you’ll have seen in the sentencing guidelines, not dealing with these offences seriously can result in huge repercussions. It’s important to reach out for legal advice sooner rather than later, so that you can get working on your defence right away.
Call our team now on 0161 234 0020 (Manchester) /0203 053 8625 (London) / 07956 555979 (24 hour). You can also contact our team at Ashcott Solicitors via our contact form. We will respond to you as soon as possible.
