11. Fraud

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. Questions, diagrams, and exercises help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress. This chapter discusses the offence of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006. There are three ways in which fraud may be committed. Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 provides for fraud by false representation; s.3 provides for fraud by failing to disclose information; and s.4 provides for fraud by abuse of a position of financial trust. Dishonesty is common to all three of these ways of committing fraud. The defendant must intend, by making the representation, to make a gain for himself or another, or to cause loss to another, or to expose another to a risk of loss.