Fraud refers to a civil or criminal action where one individual purposely deceives another individual for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage of some sort.
While fraud is a criminal offense in nearly every jurisdiction, the specific definition of fraud varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Typically, fraud is used to obtain money or valuables from individuals or organizations. However, fraud may also be used to obtain other items, such as Social Security numbers and drivers' licenses. Generally speaking, there are five things that a person must prove in order to show that fraud has occurred: