Severe punishment now faces those who deceive the bank when applying for a loan. Petty fraud and punishment for it Petty fraud article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

For money to be profitable, it must work. What's the easiest way to make your savings bring you income? Invest in a successful project. But first you should assess the degree of risk and the likelihood of being deceived by various types of scammers. Therefore, it is important to know in advance what fraud is and what forms it exists. So, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation defines fraud (Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) as a type of crime consisting in the illegal appropriation of someone else’s property or the acquisition of rights to it, through abuse of trust or deception. There is an opinion that fraud is not something too serious: “well, a simpleton cheated, so what.” However, despite the fact that the victim herself, supposedly “of her own free will,” parts with her property, the actions of the attacker that contribute to this are classified as a crime (a type of theft) and are punished quite severely.

According to forensic scientists, Russia is one of the states where fraud is extremely widespread, has a variety of work patterns, as well as a tendency to increase the number of cases and the sophistication of its forms. Unfortunately, in our country this phenomenon is widespread.

What is considered fraud?

What is considered fraud and what is not? As mentioned above, fraud in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is considered a type of theft (theft) of property. Theft, according to Note No. 1 to Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is the selfish, unlawful, gratuitous seizure of someone else's property or the assignment of rights to it, causing damage to the owner. What is important here is the fact that there is no payment for property that has passed to another person.

What does breach of trust and deception mean? Deception is considered to be the communication of deliberately false information that does not correspond to reality, concealment of the truth, falsification of information or, for example, passing off a counterfeit as the original of something valuable, as well as any other misleading actions.

Remember: ignorance of the law does not exempt you from responsibility for violating it!

Breach of trust is the use of another person's trust for personal gain. Trust can be conditioned, for example, by family or friendly relations, as well as by the official position of the fraudster and the dependent position of the victim. This also includes situations when an attacker receives money in the form of prepayment for services that he does not intend to perform. Or for a product that was not intended to be given to the buyer.

From a legal point of view, fraud is not considered to be illegal actions against someone related to breach of trust or deception, but without theft of property causing damage to its owner. Situations where someone else's property, fraudulently obtained from its owner, is retained by force are also not considered fraud. For example, an attacker asks for a phone to make an urgent call, but as soon as he receives it, he disappears with it or refuses to return it. This qualifies as robbery. And finally, if someone else's property passes into the hands of an attacker under the influence of threats or intimidation, this is extortion.

The end of the fraud is considered to be the time when the person who illegally took possession of someone else’s property was given the opportunity to dispose of it at his own discretion.

Liability for fraud

1. According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, fraud (Article 159) is punishable by:

a fine of up to 120,000 rubles or in the amount of earnings (other income) of the convicted person for a period of up to 1 year;
forced labor - up to 180,000 hours;
correctional labor - up to 1 year;
arrest - up to 4 months;
imprisonment for up to 2 years.

2. Fraud committed by a group of participants (preliminary conspiracy) or causing significant damage to the owner of the property is punishable:

a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or in the amount of earnings (other income) punished for a period of up to 2 years;
compulsory work - from 180,000 to 240,000 hours;
correctional labor - up to 2 years;
imprisonment for up to 5 years.

3. Fraud committed by someone using his official position, or fraud on a large scale, is punishable:

a fine from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles or in the amount of earnings (other income) punished for a period of 1 to 3 years;
imprisonment for up to 6 years with a fine of up to 10,000 rubles or in the amount of earnings (other income) of the convicted person for 1 month, or without a fine.

4. Fraud on an especially large scale or committed by an organized group is punishable by:

imprisonment for a term of up to 10 years with a fine of up to 1,000,000 rubles or in the amount of earnings (other income) punished for a period of up to 3 years, or without a fine.

What are the scammer and his victim like?

The appearance of a fraudster can hardly be repulsive; rather, he will be an attractive, pleasant person to talk to, who knows how to “ingratiate” himself into trust and play on people’s feelings. Often, criminals exploit base human qualities - greed, passion for easy money or the desire of the victim to deceive someone, although sometimes they play on kindness, love for one’s neighbor, concern for the weak, and the like. Judging by this, practically no one is guaranteed that they will never be deceived.

Previously, scammers were considered the elite of the criminal world, since these were people, as a rule, educated, intelligent, and well versed in psychology. Now, with the availability of mobile communications and the Internet to the majority of the population, scammers no longer even need to be good actors.

The ingenuity and resourcefulness of fraud have no limits. As soon as one type of working deception scheme becomes known to most people, a new form is invented or an established one is modified, and again the money of naive citizens flows in a stream into other people's pockets.

For example, the sphere of communications has long been saturated with fraud: not everyone will ignore a request to transfer some money to a sick child or call a loved one back, supposedly receiving an SMS from him saying that “a problem has occurred and money is urgently needed.” This type of deception is attractive to unscrupulous citizens also because it is extremely difficult, and sometimes even impossible, for the victim to find out who the attacker is, because there was no personal contact or even conversation between them. And it’s almost impossible to get the money back. Therefore, these forms of fraud are widespread and have been running for years.

In addition to modern high-tech forms of deception, traditional ones - card cheating or thimble-telling - have not outlived their usefulness. And, oddly enough, they consistently generate income for their followers.

Types of fraud

Simple or classic fraud.

Classic fraud - Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 1, is considered as a type of appropriation of someone else's property by deception, committed without additional aggravating conditions. For example, these are cases when an attacker deliberately provides false information about himself in order to force the victim to give him, for example, money or a valuable item. This type of fraud can be based on or without a contract. For example, borrowing a certain amount of money, promising to return it after some time, but not intending to do so.

Qualified fraud

This type of crime includes fraud committed through the use of official position, or by a group of people - professional fraudsters. Typically, the damage to the victim in this case is more significant than with the classic type of fraud.

goodness. This type of crime is accompanied by aggravating features, and the punishment for it is more serious.

Contract fraud

Contractual fraud is accompanied by the conclusion of civil transactions between the fraudster and the victim. For example, the attacker, according to the contract, undertakes to transfer to the victim property that he actually does not have. The victim, not knowing that the subject of the transaction does not exist, gives the money to the scammer and receives nothing in return.

Contractual conclusions are most often drawn up for purchases and sales of expensive property - houses, apartments, vehicles, and the like. This type of crime is often classified as fraud on an especially large scale. Often, such forms of profit are developed and put into practice by a group of criminals, and their victims can be individuals, businesses and organizations. The scheme of such deception can be multi-level, including the false services of dishonest lawyers who help the victim “legally” enter into contracts and give money to the scammers.

Non-contractual fraud

The most common, numerous and diverse type of fraud. Examples of such cases: a request to immediately transfer money to the phone number of a scammer under the guise of a loved one who is in a difficult situation, being forced to give money to a “healer” to remove “damage” and much more. Since such transactions are usually not always easy to prove, they often remain undisclosed. And the victims themselves are in no hurry to report to law enforcement agencies, especially if the amount of stolen funds was not large. This allows fraudsters to remain unpunished for a long time and develop new ways to take away citizens’ property.

Common methods of fraud

Electronic fraud

Spam that arrives via email, SMS messages to the phone and other methods usually contains a considerable number of charlatan messages. In many of these letters you can read offers to join various financial pyramids that promise instant enrichment, requests to send a certain amount for treatment to a patient, to make a contribution to various charitable foundations, to learn many ways to make money quickly, and other similar things.

Paid mailings. It happens that in order to refuse some imposed service, you need to make a call or send a message to a “toll-free” number, as a result of which you are automatically subscribed to certain paid mailings, for which a certain amount will be constantly debited from your account. Or it will be removed once.

Infection of a computer or mobile gadget with malware. This can be classified as both fraud and theft. In case of fraud, the victim will be forced to personally transfer funds to the accounts of the attackers, for example, for unlocking a Windows login. Example: a text is displayed on the screen where, on behalf of government services, they report the discovery of pirated software on your computer, with a requirement to pay a “fine”. Naturally, scammers extort money in this way.

Calls or messages to mobile numbers that your relative is in a difficult situation, about winning prizes, about a certain amount being mistakenly credited to your number, and so on. The essence of such stories boils down to one thing - they expect you to replenish the accounts of the attackers.

How to avoid falling for these tricks? Don't trust those who promise to get rich quick. Financial pyramids that previously existed in real life have now moved to the Internet. About this kind of organization we can say that this is fraud on an especially large scale, since the amounts circulating there are significant. Naturally, having concluded a contract, you will immediately become their debtor.

If you want to participate in paying for treatment for a sick child, make inquiries and specify the account number. Usually, in real situations this is not difficult to find out. If a request for help comes from your loved one, first contact him by phone in person.

Install an anti-virus protection tool and an anti-spam filter on your computer and mobile device (smartphone, tablet). This will protect you from virus infection and prevent unauthorized calls and mailings from your mobile number.

Thimble games, street lotteries, and other “scams”

A very old and seemingly well-known type of fraud. However, there are still people who want to take part in them. The scheme of involvement is quite simple: in front of the public eyes, an accomplice of the scammers, disguised as a random passer-by, wins large sums of money. It’s hard for a gambling person to pass by, but don’t forget where the free cheese is. Even if you win a little, you will definitely lose everything later.

Card games

They are practiced by professional gamblers who are, as a rule, highly qualified in this criminal profession. They prefer to involve train passengers, taxis, hotel guests, or simply gambling people who love risk and believe in luck into card games. For the “client” the game will be arranged in such a way that he will be lucky for some time, but the matter will always end in a big loss. There is a special mentality of people - a tendency to gambling. Fraudsters in this category are able to accurately identify such people from the crowd and involve them in the game.

Divination

A varied category - from street gypsies, to all kinds of “healers” and “soothsayers”. They work alone or in groups. Subtle psychologists know how to identify those on whom they can easily make money. Finding an approach to the suggested person (their clients are mostly women), they listen to complaints, express compassion and willingness to get rid of all life’s troubles and illnesses for a certain amount, sometimes significant. They use elements of suggestion and intimidation: “if you don’t remove the damage now, it will be even worse.” Usually they achieve that the victim comes to them repeatedly for “healing” sessions and is left without money and without the desired result of the “treatment”.

Fraudsters operate everywhere: in banks, insurance, and credit organizations. There is even such a thing as “telephone scammers” and “Internet scammers.”

The law of the Russian Federation provides for punishment for fraudulent actions, since this form of theft of funds or human property carries the hallmark of a crime.

In Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud” clearly states what fraud is, as well as what punishment faces a person or group of people who have committed such an offense.

What is fraud under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?

It clearly states that fraud is the appropriation (seizure) of someone else’s property, as well as the illegal acquisition of the right to someone else’s property through cunning, lies and/or abuse of trust.

The same Article 159 of the Criminal Code talks about punishment for fraudulent actions. Thus, the type of punishment may vary depending on the number of persons involved in fraudulent schemes, the degree and amount of damage caused, and the position the fraudster occupies (for example, he is the person who took advantage of his position).

The following types of penalties may be applied to guilty persons:

fine;
compulsory work;
correctional work;
forced labor;
restriction of freedom.

The judiciary considers various claims in cases of fraud:

This is a relatively new crime that was introduced in 2013.

According to Art. 159.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, fraud in the field of lending is recognized as such actions of the borrower in which he takes possession of the money of the lender (bank) by fraudulent means.

For example:

the borrower provided the bank employee with false information about his income - he overstated it;
the borrower provided a false certificate of employment and position in order for the bank to issue him a loan.

At the same time, the actions of the borrower will not always be assessed under Art. 159.1. If he repays the loan, naturally no one will sue him.

That is, in order for the borrower’s actions to fall under the category of fraud, it is necessary to prove the crime.

In other words, if a person does not repay the loan, and then it turns out that he also provided the bank with false information about himself, then his actions will fall under Art. 159.1.

If a person’s guilt is proven and the court rules that the defendant’s actions fall under Art. 158.1 CC, then he may face one of the following penalties:

a fine of up to 120,000 rubles;
compulsory work for up to 360 hours;
correctional labor for up to 12 months;
restriction of freedom for up to 24 months;
forced labor for up to 2 years;
arrest for up to 4 months.

If we are talking about fraud committed by a group of people, then the punishment will be harsher - imprisonment for up to 4 years.

What does group deception mean? This is when the borrower attracts third parties to make his scam work, for example, he negotiates with the company’s accountant to make a fictitious income certificate.

If a bank employee also participates in credit fraud and deliberately issued a large loan not in accordance with the rules, then for using his official position he may be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to 5 years.

If you are faced with a situation where, having ordered a product on the Internet with 100% prepayment, you still haven’t received it, you don’t need to give up.

You need to understand that you can’t just get away with fraud on the Internet. For this, scammers are also punished.

And this is clearly stated in Art. 159.3 “Fraud using electronic means of payment.”

What does it mean: large-scale fraud?

Extra large size according to Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - how much is it?

The gradation of damage in case of fraud is as follows:

at least 10 thousand rubles – significant damage;
over 1 million rubles – major damage;
over 3 million rubles – especially large damage. Individual entrepreneurs often face such damage, for example, due to unfulfilled contractual obligations.

In order to understand how large or significant the damage was to a person, it is necessary to find out the value of the stolen property (property rights).

A particularly large amount under the article “Fraud” is determined in monetary terms. For 2020, large-scale damage is considered to be damage that exceeds 1 million rubles.

A person who has committed an offense under Part 3 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Fraud” on an especially large scale is punishable by a fine (from 100 to 500 thousand rubles) or forced labor (up to 5 years), imprisonment (up to 6 years).

If the fraudulent scheme involved an entire organized group that took possession of other people’s money on a large scale or caused significant damage by depriving a person of a person’s right to housing, then the punishment will be harsher: imprisonment for up to 10 years with a fine.

How not to become an accomplice and not fall under Art. 159.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?

Often people, without realizing it, can get themselves into trouble. For example, an acquaintance asked to take out a loan from a bank because he was not given one due to his bad credit history. The man took out a loan for himself, but in fact he had no intention of paying it off.

If the person who used the loan money does not repay the debt within the time allotted by the bank, then the person in whose name the loan was issued may be punished for this.

According to the law, it does not matter who manages the loan money, because all responsibility is shifted to the person who takes the loan.

And if the loan is not repaid, then the bank can file a lawsuit, and the judge will evaluate the actions of the borrower under Part 2 of Art. 159.1 of the Criminal Code as a group crime.

Therefore, if you do not want to bear criminal liability for fraud, then never apply for a loan to acquaintances, friends and even relatives, without being sure that they will not be able to repay it.

But even if the bank filed a lawsuit, the borrower can avoid criminal liability if he repays the loan in full on time. Since the money will be returned to the bank, there will be no crime, which means the case can be closed.

Fraudsters operate in many areas of activity: they carry out scams with real estate, cars, and money. It is not easy for an ordinary person to recognize scammers, but even if he realizes that he has fallen for scammers, he will not immediately decide to contact the police.

But some soon realize that those responsible must be punished. But what if a lot of time has passed since the actual day of the crime?

Can another person or group of people be held criminally liable for fraud, and within what period can a person file a lawsuit?

The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution depends on the severity of the crime., as well as the amount of property that was stolen fraudulently:

If we are talking about fraud on an especially large scale, that is, when the value of the appraised property illegally appropriated exceeded 1 million rubles, then the statute of limitations is 10 years from the date of the crime.
If a fraudulent scheme was carried out by a group of persons, then such fraud is considered serious, therefore the statute of limitations for this type of violation is also 10 years.
If we are talking about the misappropriation of money in the amount of up to 1 million rubles, then the statute of limitations for such an unlawful act is 2 years.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation stipulates the terms of exemption from criminal liability in Art. 78.

The Criminal Code provides for punishment not only for committed fraudulent acts, but also for unfinished acts - for attempted fraud.

What does attempted fraud mean? This is when a person or group of people intended to commit an offense, but did not complete it for reasons beyond their control. That is, the fraudulent scheme was not completed.

In order for the actions of a person or group of persons to fall under the category of “attempted fraud”, the following conditions must be met:

the act or omission must be carried out illegally;
the action must be intentional;
the crime should not be completed.

Attempted fraud is a common practice when dividing the property of former spouses, when refunding VAT by legal entities, receiving insurance payments and other financial transactions.

In order for a person’s actions to be regarded as a crime, there must be intent.

Basically, people in such situations have no intention of taking possession of other people's property. They believe in the correctness of their actions and demands, so it is very difficult to talk about attempted fraud in these cases.

If it is proven that a person really wanted to take possession of someone else’s property, but due to certain circumstances he was unable to do so, he may still face punishment.

Criminal liability for such a crime will occur only when it was planned to commit a fraudulent scheme on a large or especially large scale - over 1 million rubles.

Punishment for such an act may include a fine or imprisonment.

To initiate a criminal case under the article “Fraud” you must:

that the fact of deception or breach of trust has been proven;
that the person's actions were intentional;
so that there is damage caused to the victim. At the same time, the amount of damage may vary, so fraudulent actions do not always fall under Art. 159.
If, for example, a person takes possession of another person’s funds in the amount of 2-3 thousand rubles, then we will not be talking about criminal liability. In this case, the law provides for administrative liability.
But if the amount of damage was over 10 thousand rubles, then the victim has grounds to file an application in court.

Why does the Criminal Code provide for harsher punishment for committing fraudulent acts by a group of persons than for committing the same act by one person?

Because, firstly, by committing a collective crime, criminals make their task easier, since each of them has their own “front of work.”

Secondly, it is always more difficult to detect and expose a collective fraudulent scheme, therefore the punishment for fraud by prior conspiracy of persons is always harsher.

Comparative characteristics of punishment in a case of fraud committed by one person or group of persons:

Fraud is a fairly common phenomenon in business, in the field of insurance, banking, in the field of computer information, and in the social sphere.

Fraudulent acts are subject to criminal liability in accordance with Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for both penalties, corrective labor, and arrest.

The specific type of punishment depends on the type of fraud, the cost of the damage caused, and the number of persons participating in the fraudulent scheme.

Many of those who have an impressive amount on hand would like it to generate income. To do this, you need to direct funds in the appropriate profitable direction. For example, you can invest them in a promising project. But before doing this, you should make sure of the reality and legality of this enterprise. Investing money carries the risk of being deceived by scammers. What do you need to know to protect your savings? Let us further understand what types of fraud exist and what is the responsibility for such illegal actions.

General information

There is an article “Fraud” in the legislation. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation defines this act as a crime in which a person illegally appropriates someone else's property or rights to it. The method of implementation is deception or abuse of trust. There is an opinion that the fact of fraud does not constitute a serious violation of the law, since it is aimed at gullible people who are almost voluntarily ready to part with their property. However, in reality everything is much more complicated. Fraud cases are considered one of the most common proceedings in the courts today. This crime is equivalent to theft and is punished quite severely. According to statistics, Russia is one of the countries in which various types of fraud are thriving and rapidly developing. Crimes related to the misappropriation of property or rights to it are various. Offenders use a variety of schemes and tricks that gullible citizens fall for. It should be noted that the prosecutor's office is not involved in the investigation of these crimes. Fraud is a criminal offence. For assistance in carrying out this, you should contact the ATC authorities.

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: fraud

The new version of the law quite clearly defines the list of crimes that fall under this category. Before giving the list, you should define the concepts used in the law. According to Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, fraud is considered one of the options for theft of property. First note of Art. 158 indicates that theft is an act of unlawful, gratuitous, selfish taking of someone else’s thing or rights to it, causing damage to its owner. What is important here is the lack of payment for property transferred to another person.

Deception and breach of trust

As mentioned above, these are the two main tools of scammers. What do you mean by deception? It means:

Hiding the truth.
Communication of knowingly false information that does not correspond to reality.
Falsifying data or passing off a counterfeit object as an item of value.
Other behavior that misleads people.

Breach of trust is used, like deception, for selfish purposes. Quite trusting relationships can exist between relatives, friends, officials and subordinates, and so on. Breach of trust may, for example, manifest itself in the criminal receiving money for a service or work that he allegedly will perform or for goods that he allegedly will deliver after payment.

Important point

From a legal point of view, illegal actions accompanied by abuse of trust or deception towards any person cannot be called fraud, unless they entail theft of property causing damage. Those cases where someone else's property obtained by fraudulent means is subsequently retained by force also do not fall under this category of crimes. For example, an attacker asked a passerby for a cell phone in order to make a very important call. Having received a mobile phone, he immediately disappears in an unknown direction. According to the Criminal Code, this crime is regarded as robbery. If property falls into the hands of an attacker through threats against the owner, then this “Fraud” (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) indicates that the criminal act is considered completed from the moment when the attacker begins to calmly dispose of the appropriated property or rights to it.

Responsibility

The article “Fraud” (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) establishes the following preventive measures for one person:

Also, the article “Fraud” (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) establishes liability for a group of persons who committed a crime. The following are used as preventive measures:

A fine, the amount of which is up to 300 thousand rubles or equal to 24 labor salaries.
Mandatory work (from 180 to 240 thousand hours).
Imprisonment (up to 5 years).
Correctional labor (up to 2 years).

Major fraud or crime committed through abuse of official position for personal gain is punishable by imprisonment. The period can be up to 6 years with a penalty of up to 10,000 rubles. or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one month or without it. There is also a fine for such fraud. The amount of penalties is from 100 to 500 thousand rubles. or 12-36 labor salaries. A crime that was committed by an organized group or caused great damage as a result of it is punishable by imprisonment for up to ten years with a fine of up to one million rubles or 36 times the monthly salary or without the imposition of sanctions.

Characteristics of attackers

Usually scammers have a pleasant, non-suspicious appearance. The manner of communication and appearance in this case act as the main tools with which the criminal wins over the victim and gains her trust. Very often, scammers play on such base human feelings as greed, the desire to deceive someone, the passion for profit. There are often cases when attackers take advantage of someone’s kindness, philanthropy, humanity, and desire to help their neighbor. Such a wide range of qualities and feelings suggests that no one is immune from illegal actions. Previously, scammers were considered the elite of the criminal world. They were educated, intelligent, well versed in psychology. Today, criminals don't even have to show their acting skills. In modern conditions of unlimited access to the Internet and mobile communications, it is enough to convincingly or at least coherently express your ideas and thoughts.

Main types of crimes

There are many legends about the ingenuity and cunning of scammers. Criminals constantly come up with various ways to appropriate other people's property, and improve existing ones if they stop working. Fraudsters quickly adapt to reality and develop new schemes for atrocities. A fairly striking and very common example is online fraud. Not everyone can ignore a request to transfer any amount, even a small one, for the treatment of a child who is seriously ill, or ignore a message from a supposedly loved one that he needs help in the form of a certain amount. Internet fraud is attractive to criminals primarily because all actions are carried out at a distance. This significantly reduces the likelihood of exposure. In addition, the victim will not be able to get his money back. Even the police won't help here. Fraud in such forms has been operating uninterruptedly for more than one year. In addition to common crimes using high technology, traditional atrocities also occur.

List of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Fraud": "classical method"

Traditional types of crimes are discussed in the first part of the normative act. They are characterized as acts of appropriation of someone else's property by deception without aggravating circumstances. This category of crime includes actions when an attacker provides false information about himself, forcing the victim to give him money or valuables. Such fraud may be supported by a contract. In particular, we are talking about borrowing a certain amount of money with a promise to return it within a specified period. However, in reality the criminal does not intend to do this.

Qualified way

This category includes crimes that are committed by a person using his official powers or as part of an organized group. Usually the damage caused to the victim is much greater than in classic crimes. Qualified crimes are characterized by the presence of aggravating circumstances. In this regard, the punishment for such acts is stricter.

Treaty crimes

This category of atrocities includes offenses that are based on the signing of various agreements. For example, according to the contract, the fraudster must transfer certain property to the victim, which the criminal does not actually have. The victim, unaware of this, parts with his savings without receiving anything in return. Agreements can be concluded when purchasing real estate, transport, valuables, and so on. As a rule, such atrocities are regarded as major fraud.

Non-contractual crimes

This type of fraud is considered the most common and multivariate. For example, someone, posing as a relative in trouble, asks to put money on the phone. Lately, there have been quite a lot of “healers” offering to remove damage or the evil eye for a fee. This type of transaction can be quite difficult to prove, and therefore such crimes in most cases remain unsolved. It is worth saying that the victims themselves are not always in a hurry to report to the police, especially if they have lost a small amount. This, in turn, allows fraudsters to continue their activities unhindered.

Popular methods

One of the most common is card fraud. Experienced cheaters are highly skilled and practice their skills at stations, trains, hotels and other places with large crowds of people. Their activity is mainly aimed at gambling citizens, those who are willing to take risks and believe in luck. The sharper will play the game in such a way that at first the person will be really lucky. But in the end he will still lose. Internet scams were mentioned above. This is a very popular remote method of deception. Most emails sent today contain deliberately false information aimed at extorting money. There are also paid newsletters. To opt out of some of them, it is suggested to send a message from your phone or call a supposedly toll-free number. But in the end, a person, on the contrary, subscribes to services for which a certain amount will be debited at a time or regularly. Also quite a popular way to seize other people's money is a virus attack on a PC. This crime involves installing malware on the victim's computer, which will force the user to send a certain amount to a specified number. For example, when turned on, a message indicating that login is blocked will be displayed on the screen. The text will allegedly be written on behalf of government services that discovered a pirated program on a computer. To resume access, the user must pay a certain amount by sending it to the number provided in the message. When sending, access, of course, will not open. In this case, you will have to reinstall the system on your PC.

Thimbles, street lotteries

This area of fraud has existed for quite a long time. Nevertheless, it does not lose its relevance. There are always those who want to take part in street actions. In such cases, a fairly simple scheme works. In front of passers-by, a citizen (supposedly passing by, but in fact an accomplice of the criminal) wins a certain amount. This moment will not go unnoticed by gambling people. At first, the victim may even gain a little. But as a result, a fairly large loss may occur.

Fortune telling

In places where there is a lot of traffic, people often gather, you can meet gypsies, fortune tellers, and healers. They work both in groups and alone. Outwardly, they look quite simple and sometimes uneducated. However, behind this lies a deep knowledge of human psychology, the ability to identify the most suitable victims for deception. The actions of such scammers are mainly aimed at young people and women. Attackers listen to their problems, express sympathy and willingness to help for a small fee. Often criminals use threats, pressure, and suggestion, saying that if nothing is done now, it will be even worse later. “Healers” thus ensure that their victims attend their sessions multiple times. As a result, as a rule, the desired result does not occur. It is possible to return the money in such cases, but it is quite problematic.

Finally

These are not all existing methods of fraud. In reality, there are quite a lot of them, and not all of them can be stopped. How can you protect yourself? First of all, law enforcement agencies recommend ignoring various kinds of get-rich-quick offers. If you want to donate to the treatment of a child, you should first clarify the details and make inquiries. If you receive requests for help from supposedly relatives, you should not panic. It is advisable to call your loved ones back and make sure everything is okay with them. As for protecting your PC, a good virus prevention program will help with this. If we talk about the actions of street scammers, then you should not give in to persuasion and not participate in dubious events. If an illegal act has been committed, you should contact law enforcement authorities as soon as possible. “In hot pursuit” there is a better chance of catching a criminal than after a while.

1. Fraud, that is, theft of someone else’s property or the acquisition of rights to someone else’s property through deception or abuse of trust, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to one hundred twenty thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to three hundred and sixty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to one year, or by restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for a term of up to two years, or arrest for a term of up to four months, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.

2. Fraud committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, as well as causing significant damage to a citizen, -

3. Fraud committed by a person using his official position, as well as on a large scale, -

4. Fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale or resulting in the deprivation of a citizen’s right to residential premises, -

5. Fraud associated with deliberate failure to fulfill contractual obligations in the field of business activity, if this act resulted in significant damage, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years. with restriction of freedom for a term of up to one year or without it, or imprisonment for a term of up to five years with restriction of freedom for a term of up to one year or without it.

6. An act provided for in part five of this article, committed on a large scale, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to five years with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years, or imprisonment for a term of up to six years with a fine in the amount of up to eighty thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months or without it and with restriction of freedom for a term of up to one and a half years or without it.

7. An act provided for in part five of this article, committed on an especially large scale, -

shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to ten years with or without a fine in the amount of up to one million rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years and with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years.

Notes 1. Significant damage in part five of this article is considered to be damage in an amount of at least ten thousand rubles.

2. Large size in part six of this article is the value of property exceeding three million rubles.

3. In part seven of this article, the value of property exceeding twelve million rubles is recognized as particularly large in size.

4. Parts five to seven of this article apply to cases of deliberate failure to fulfill contractual obligations in the field of business activity, when the parties to the agreement are individual entrepreneurs and (or) commercial organizations.

Which has all its characteristics. Professionals know how to prove fraud in court, but even for them it is extremely difficult to do so. Therefore, it is better to be careful not to get into an unpleasant situation. But it wouldn’t hurt to be theoretically savvy. It makes sense to first familiarize yourself with the concept and types of theft. Theft means the illegal gratuitous seizure of someone else's property in favor of a criminal or third parties, committed for selfish reasons and causing damage to the owner of this property.

Theft

The object of theft is relations in society in the sphere of property. Since the criminal took possession of the property illegally, he does not have any rights to use or dispose of it; accordingly, the owner remains the full owner.

The subject of theft is some other person's property, it is always a material benefit that has a monetary value, money, documents. It is interesting that credit cards, savings books, invoices, checks, and keys to safes are not considered, since these items only provide the right to receive material benefits and have no value in themselves. The court will qualify these actions as preparation for theft.

The concept of theft includes such types of crimes as theft, fraud, misappropriation and embezzlement, robbery and robbery, extortion.

The new edition of the Russian Federation characterizes fraud, reveals its signs, the elements of the crime and punishment for its different types. The article will discuss the specifics of this crime, the punishment it provides, as well as the mechanism for collecting evidence. When preparing the evidence base, you must act carefully; fraudsters will immediately notice the surveillance and begin to cover their tracks, in which case it will be almost impossible to restore the rights of the victim.

Characterizes fraud as a crime whose purpose is to steal someone else's property or the right to it by deception or through abuse of trust. The severity of the punishment will depend on how investigators prove fraud and classify it. It can be in the form of a fine, compulsory or correctional labor, restriction of freedom, forced labor, arrest, imprisonment are also possible. Each subsequent part of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation considers a more serious crime and more significant punishments for them.

Punishment for various forms of fraud

The lightest punishment is provided for a person who commits fraud alone without significant damage to the victim.

The next most serious type of fraud is fraud committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy and causing significant damage to a citizen. How to prove conspiracy in fraud will be discussed below.

Part three deals with fraud committed by an official using his official position on a large scale.

Part four reveals the concept of fraud committed by an organized group or on a particularly large scale, resulting in the loss of a person’s right to residential premises. Here it is important to respond to the situation in a timely manner; victims realize too late that they have been deceived and, having lost precious time, begin to think about how to prove fraud.

Part five - punishment for fraud associated with deliberate failure to fulfill obligations under a contract in business activities, if this caused significant damage. Significant damage means an amount of more than ten thousand rubles.

An even more serious crime is fraud associated with deliberate failure to fulfill obligations under a contract in business, committed on a large scale. Large-scale damage should be understood as damage amounting to at least three million rubles.

Fraud associated with deliberate failure to fulfill obligations under a contract in business activities, committed on an especially large scale, involves damages of twelve million rubles.

A distinctive feature of fraud is the method of taking possession of someone else's property - this is deception and abuse of the trust of the victim. Acting carefully, scammers mislead the owner without showing their true intentions, and the deceived victim transfers the property to them or gives them the opportunity to acquire the right to it.

In order to have an idea of how to prove fraud, you need to know about its two components, which in court must be associated with the damage of the victim:

Deception - providing false information for the further implementation of selfish plans; concealment of significant terms of the transaction; provision of fictitious documents.
Breach of trust implies that the transaction was made on the basis of trust between friends and relatives, and also that the fraudster did not intend to fulfill his obligations under the contract in advance.

Law enforcement officials know how to prove fraud; to do this, they need to collect a number of high-quality evidence. But together with the investigator, the victim must also take an active part in collecting evidence.

Subjective side

A mandatory attribute of fraud is direct, specific intent, which must be proven in court. As a rule, the criminal prepares to commit fraud by preparing fake title documents, licenses, certificates, hiding real information about the registration of the enterprise and the presence of debts. These facts in court will indicate that the fraudster did not have the opportunity in advance and did not intend to fulfill his obligations under the contract, and therefore had direct intent. Since it is not easy to prove fraud, it is better to seek help from a professional.

Objective side

The object of fraud is identical to the object of theft - these are the relations developing in society in the field of material resources.

Only a legally capable citizen who freely transfers his property or the right to it to the criminal can be considered a victim of fraud. If an incompetent person was deceived, then such a crime will be classified as theft.

Fraud is considered committed when the property came into the illegal possession of the criminal at the moment when he received the opportunity to use and dispose of it, and on the basis of an official document. If we are talking about real estate, then this will be the moment of registration of the property rights of the criminal or the acceptance of another document by a misled person who gave the criminal grounds for owning, using or disposing of this property.

Fraud by prior agreement

If fraud is committed by a group of persons, then the qualifying feature will be preliminary conspiracy. Since investigators prove the fact of conspiracy fraud on their own, it is enough for the average person to have a general concept of conspiracy. This is a joint offense planned in advance by several persons. If the criminals decided to commit a joint crime already at the time of its commission, then the sign of preliminary conspiracy does not apply.

Most often, when there is a preliminary conspiracy, criminals are preparing for a crime. There are many stories about what scammers can do with a passport: forge a purchase and sale agreement, donate property, apply for a loan. Then it is very difficult to reverse events and punish the criminals. When preparing any documents or transactions, especially in non-state entities, be very attentive to your documents.

Owners of any property need to make transactions especially carefully; this is fertile ground for fraudsters, and it is more difficult to prove real estate fraud over time. They often operate according to a scheme: one looks for a property and organizes a crime, the second plays the role of a realtor, and the third deals with the legal side of the transaction. Having taken possession of someone else's property, the scammers get rid of it and disappear even before the victim realizes that she has been deceived. You need to immediately contact law enforcement agencies, as investigators prove fraud professionally and will tell you what actions to take in order to collect evidence and not scare off the criminals.

If you have become a victim of scammers

So how can you prove fraud? Let's consider an example of a situation where a fraudster borrowed a sum of money and does not return it at the agreed time. The very first way to protect yourself when lending money is to take a receipt. But if we are talking about close people, then in our society it is considered disrespectful and indecent to demand such documents; they supposedly indicate mistrust, but this is exactly what scammers take advantage of. Without having in your hands any material evidence of the fact of the loan, it is almost impossible to prove this. But it's worth a try. The following methods are suitable for proving all types of fraud:

audio recording of the conversation;
video recording of a conversation in a personal meeting;
correspondence in any messengers.

It should be clearly clear from the audio or video recording that the scammer borrowed a certain amount and has not yet returned it, so you need to think in advance about how to structure your conversation.

You need to prepare in advance for a call or meeting: indicate the date and time of contact on the record; record incoming and outgoing phone numbers; indicate the personal information of the phone owners.

The conversation must include: the amount of debt, the date of transfer of money on loan; demand to return money; Why did the criminal ask to borrow money?

After the end of the conversation, you need to set and announce its duration and end time.

As for correspondence on the Internet, it is enough to print out the correspondence with the criminal and attach it as evidence in court. If the fraudster begins to renege on his words, the court will send a request about the reality of the correspondence to the social network where it was conducted.

Business and Fraud

If we are talking about fraud in business activities, then a more thorough and professional investigation will be required. It is necessary to conduct an audit of the fraudulent company’s title documents. First of all, the contract is subject to verification, the obligations under which have not been fulfilled. It may reflect significant conditions with which the company protected itself by initially deciding not to fulfill its obligations.

It is also necessary to check the authenticity of the license, the availability of financial capacity to fulfill the contract, the availability of goods or a developed scheme for its delivery.

Contacting law enforcement agencies

Before contacting law enforcement agencies, the victim must attempt a pre-trial settlement of the dispute by sending the debtor a written demand for repayment of the debt or fulfillment of the obligation, and must have a notification of delivery of this demand.

If there is no reaction, you need to submit an application to the internal affairs authorities. The application shall indicate: the circumstances of the case; personal details of the suspect; how much time has passed since the expected repayment of the debt or fulfillment of obligations; please check and classify the crime. If the debtor reports that he did not steal anything and returns the money later, then the case will not be initiated. Then the victim has no choice but to go to court. To prepare for legal proceedings, it is better to use the services of a professional, since preparing the necessary package of documents and petitions on your own is very labor-intensive and difficult.

Going to court

Judicial practice on fraud has a huge number of won cases. But it is impossible to create an objective picture of the scale of fraud, since most cases simply do not reach court due to lack of evidence or sufficient information about the identity and location of the criminal. It happens that the victim is simply ashamed to admit that he has become a victim of a cunning fraudster, and to admit his own lack of foresight. At the same time, the difficulty is in collecting evidence. Since all activities involve communication with the criminal after the crime has been committed, collecting evidence often turns out to be impossible, because the scammers disappear without a trace, having carried out their evil intent. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful when performing any actions with material assets, so as not to become a victim of scammers.