Most people are familiar with the word fraud but may find it difficult to explain exactly what it is. Wikipedia states “in law, fraud is deliberate deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud itself can be a civil wrong, a criminal wrong, or it may cause no loss of money, property or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong.” If you use that definition have you been the victim of fraud? Many people will find themselves the victim of fraud once in their life. Kajioka & Associates Attorneys at Law deals with many fraud cases each and every year. We have put together a list of some of the most common types of fraud. We hope that being aware will prevent you from becoming a victim of fraud.
Telemarketing Fraud
Telemarketers can provide wonderful services to consumers. Businesses use telemarketing as an effective marketing tactic to help grow their business. Since everyone loves to get a good deal scam artists frequently try to use the telephone to cheat people out of money. Telemarketing fraud is when you are asked to send money to someone to order or access a special offer. Scam artists will call you and claim that they are selling you something so that you willingly give them money. Then they do not provide you the services or goods that they offered you. They can be extremely convincing on the phone! Approximately $40 billion is lost each year to telemarketing fraud. More than half of telemarketing frauds happen to people over the age of 50. To protect yourself you will want to ask for written copies of the terms and conditions; look up the company before you send money; and do not give out personal information if you feel uncomfortable with the situation.
False Insurance Claim Fraud
Insurance claim fraud is when people stage accidents or injuries from accidents in order to get claim money from an insurance company. Millions of dollars a year are lost on these types of claims. Most frequently these types of claims include soft-tissue injuries like whiplash as well as back and shoulder injuries. These types of injuries are hard for the insurance companies to medically identify and dispute.
Mortgage Broker Fraud
Homeowners are frequently the victims of mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud comes in many different forms. One type of mortgage fraud is typically to receive a larger loan amount than would have been permitted if the application had been made honestly. People will lie about their income to get a larger loan than they would have been able to so they can purchase a larger house than they can afford. Another type of mortgage fraud is foreclosure rescue schemes, loan modification schemes, and equity skimming. The FBI investigates thousands of mortgage fraud cases each year. If you are found guilty of mortgage fraud the consequence could result in jail time, heavy fines, or both.
Identity Theft
An identity fraud study done in 2017 reported that $16 billion was stolen from 15.5 million consumers in 2016. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. Identity thieves will find your information by looking through your trash; stealing your information online; stealing your mail; and more. They will use your information to apply for credit cards and loans; welfare services; tax refunds, and more. Before you can even blink successful criminals can steal thousands of dollars from you. To protect yourself you can shred your documents; check all of your banking statements and credit card bills; protect your credit and debit cards; shop safely online; and sign up for credit protection services.
Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, Business Attorneys & More in Greater Las Vegas, Nevada
There are tons of other different frauds that people commit each and every year but we wanted to highlight just a few of them for you today. If you are the victim of any fraud give Kajioka & Associates Attorneys at Law a call today. We can help you recover what is rightfully yours! And give us a call if you are charged with fraud as well so that we can represent you.
