A fraudster is an individual who engages in fraud. A fraud is the act of intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful financial or personal gain. In simple terms, a fraudster is a cheat or a deceiver who uses lies, manipulation, or misrepresentation to trick victims out of money, property, or sensitive information.
Types of Fraudsters and Their Schemes
Fraudsters often take on different roles depending on the crime they commit:
- The Impersonator (Identity Theft): Steals someone’s personal information. This is then used to open new accounts, make unauthorized purchases or file fraudulent tax returns in the victim’s name.
- The Professional/Insider (Corporate Fraud): An employee or executive who abuses their position of authority to commit crimes. These crimes include embezzlement, falsifying financial statements, or insider trading.
- The Investment Con Artist (Ponzi Schemes): Sets up complex investment schemes (like Charles Ponzi or Bernie Madoff) where they promise extremely high returns. In reality they pay off old investors using money taken from new investors, rather than from any legitimate business profit.
- The High-Pressure Salesman (Social Engineering): Uses charm, threats, or a sense of urgency to trick people, often posing as a bank, government agency, or tech support to convince the victim to send money or provide sensitive login details.
How to Protect Yourself?
- Be Skeptical of Urgency: A legitimate institution will never pressure you to act immediately or threaten you with arrest or deportation.
- Never Pay with Gift Cards/Wire Transfers: These are the preferred payment methods of fraudsters because they are virtually untraceable.
- Verify Independently: If you receive a suspicious call or email from a company, hang up or delete the email, and call the company back using the official phone number from their website or a verified statement, not the number the fraudster provided.
Want to know about the term Scammer and what activities a scammer does?
