Fraud is to dishonestly by deceipt, obtain property belonging to another, or obtain a financial gain or cause a financial disadvantage.
It's all about intention - kind of.
In this case, if you sign someone elses name simply because they weren't there and you have every intention of passing the parcel on, then that can not be fraud because there is no financial gain or disadvantage involved - provided that there's no delay in passing it on of course.
If there is no intention to pass on the parcel to it's intended recipient in the first place, or you intentionally delay passing it on, then that can be fraud. To explain ...
Fraud has 3 mandatory elements: dishonesty, deceipt, and financial gain/disadvantage (which includes obtaining property).
The dishonest aspect simply relates to whether or not you have a legal right to cause the financial gain/disadvantage. If you have a legal right, then it's not fraud. If you don't, then for the purpose of fraud the action is dishonest.
Deceipt has it's common meaning so is obvious. In this example, signing someone elses name without disclosing that you are not that person is deceitful.
The financial aspect appears obvious, but there are two things that many people don't know about fraud:
1. The financial gain/disadvantage can be permanent or temporary. Therefore in this particular case, any delay in passing on the parcel can be fraud.
2. It is irrelevant if you try to make amends after the fact. Returning the goods or money or offering to pay for goods you had no legal right to obtain in the first place, does not negate the fraudulent way in which the goods or money was originally obtained.
The final thing everyone should know about fraud is that your actions do not have to be intentional. A genuine mistake will generally not be considered fraud, however fraud does occur if the act is intentional or reckless.
For NSW, fraud is covered in Part 4AA of the Crimes Act. (The actual offence is section 192E.) It's an interesting read if you're into that sort thing.
It's all about intention - kind of.
In this case, if you sign someone elses name simply because they weren't there and you have every intention of passing the parcel on, then that can not be fraud because there is no financial gain or disadvantage involved - provided that there's no delay in passing it on of course.
If there is no intention to pass on the parcel to it's intended recipient in the first place, or you intentionally delay passing it on, then that can be fraud. To explain ...
Fraud has 3 mandatory elements: dishonesty, deceipt, and financial gain/disadvantage (which includes obtaining property).
The dishonest aspect simply relates to whether or not you have a legal right to cause the financial gain/disadvantage. If you have a legal right, then it's not fraud. If you don't, then for the purpose of fraud the action is dishonest.
Deceipt has it's common meaning so is obvious. In this example, signing someone elses name without disclosing that you are not that person is deceitful.
The financial aspect appears obvious, but there are two things that many people don't know about fraud:
1. The financial gain/disadvantage can be permanent or temporary. Therefore in this particular case, any delay in passing on the parcel can be fraud.
2. It is irrelevant if you try to make amends after the fact. Returning the goods or money or offering to pay for goods you had no legal right to obtain in the first place, does not negate the fraudulent way in which the goods or money was originally obtained.
The final thing everyone should know about fraud is that your actions do not have to be intentional. A genuine mistake will generally not be considered fraud, however fraud does occur if the act is intentional or reckless.
For NSW, fraud is covered in Part 4AA of the Crimes Act. (The actual offence is section 192E.) It's an interesting read if you're into that sort thing.
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