What's the difference between a fraud and a scam?

What’s the difference between a fraud and a scam? Fraud is an act of deception intended for personal gain or to cause loss to another party. A ‘scam’ is essentially the same thing. Whether referred to as a fraud or a scam, there are four ways that potential victims can be approached. These are phone, doorstep, post and online.

Whatever the type of fraud, or the method used, the consequences for a victim can be significant and long lasting, affecting not only their finances, but their sense of wellbeing and quality of life. 

There are lots of different types of fraud, and we are going to be sharing information about the most common methods we see in Lincolnshire and profiling the people in our county who tackle fraud to keep people safe.

We believe that knowledge is power when it comes to fraud. If you have heard of a particular fraud, you are more likely to be cautious and less likely to become a victim of it. Find out more about different types of fraud here: https://www.lincs.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/  

This message comes to you from #LincolnshireAgainstFraud – over the coming weeks we will be sending a series of messages that outline the top frauds in our county in a bid to help protect our people.