It might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about crime, but fraud is the most common offence that’s committed in the UK. As more and more of our personal and professional lives become integrated with and dependent on the digital world, an increasing amount of fraudulent activity is also carried out online.
Most of us will be at least loosely familiar with the concept of online fraud, but it can also be important to develop a more thorough, legally grounded understanding of these issues. This becomes particularly important if you are personally involved in an investigation of online fraud or charged with an offence.
While articles like this do provide a foundation for that legal understanding, they are not intended as a replacement for legal advice. If you are currently under investigation, or have already been charged with an offence, then reach out for legal assistance at the earliest opportunity available to you.
How online fraud is defined
Online fraud is considered to be a specific type of fraud more generally. As a result, it is also defined under the Fraud Act 2006. According to the act, someone is guilty of fraud if they make an intentionally dishonest misrepresentation, with the goal of causing either personal gain or loss to another.
Online fraud essentially consists of scenarios where this fraud is carried out online. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau believes that around 80% of all fraud cases are now carried out this way, meaning that the majority of fraud is, in fact, online fraud.
Three types of fraud
Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Fraud Act outline the main different kinds of fraud.
Section 2: Fraud by false representation
This is perhaps the most common type of fraud that those engaged in online fraud will find themselves charged with. Someone is guilty of the offence if they intentionally make a false representation; a false representation is one which is both misleading and untrue, and where the person making such a claim is aware of this.
This kind of fraud covers an immense range of potential online acts of fraud. From making fraudulent listings on platforms such as eBay to impersonating government bodies, this kind of false representation can be made to machines as well as humans, meaning that online transactions not involving human agents are fully within the legislative scope of the act.
Section 3: Fraud by failing to disclose information
This kind of fraud occurs when someone does not disclose information that they had a legal responsibility to disclose, and where that failure to disclose information was done with the intent to result in their personal gain or loss to another.
While less common, this kind of fraud will still often occur in contexts such as during applications for insurance or credit. Here, failing to disclose past incidents or debts could result in the offence being committed.
Section 4: Fraud by abuse of position
Fraud by abuse of position is committed when someone occupies a position of trust, where they are supposed to safeguard the financial interests of another party, but instead abuse that position to bring about personal gain or loss to another.
In online contexts, this could include situations where an employee uses their access to client accounts in order to personally profit.
Examples of online fraud
Many of us will come face-to-face with fraudulent operations online pretty much every day, but may not know how to define them as such. A few examples might help to provide additional clarity:
- A common example of online fraud would be listing a product on eBay and then lying about the product to make it more desirable. Extreme examples of this could include selling an iPhone or computer, and then only sending a cardboard box to the buyer. Other examples could consist of listing an item, such as a premium car, as fully functioning when, in fact, it has serious issues that the seller is fully aware of.
- Another common kind of online fraud consists of applying for lines of credit that would not otherwise be available to the applicant. The fraudulent component could consist of intentionally and dishonestly inflating certain figures, such as historical income, or hiding other factors, such as existing debts.
- A third kind of online fraud could consist of making a website that pretends to be a legitimate site, selling some kind of product or service. However, once the visitor makes a purchase and has their money taken, the website owner doesn’t send them anything.
These are just a handful of examples, but there are quite literally thousands of other ways in which online fraud is committed every day. If you need assistance, it’s important that you engage the services of an experienced criminal defence solicitor who has dealt with online fraud cases before, so that you can be sure that they understand the nuances of this area of criminal law.
Sentencing for online fraud
Should you be found guilty of online fraud under The Fraud Act 2006, the sentencing guidelines state that you can face a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, with an offence range of between discharge and 8 years in prison.
The broad range of these sentencing options provides the court with sufficient leeway to deal with a wide variety of different specific examples of fraud. For example, someone who commits a single, isolated and opportunistic act of fraud involving a faulty phone, even if they are charged and found guilty, is unlikely to face a custodial sentence at all.
On the other hand, someone who is the ringleader of a large fraudulent operation that has been targeting vulnerable individuals over a long timeframe, is likely to receive a serious prison sentence if found guilty.
If you are unsure as to the position you are in, it’s important to seek advice as soon as reasonably possible. The more time that you and your legal team have to work on your defence, the better the outcome will likely be.
If you’re facing assault charges, we can help. 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.
