Have you ever been fooled by a grossly exaggerated advertisement that made you buy seemingly useless merchandise? If you have, then chances are, you have just become a victim of fraud yourself.

In its simplest definition, fraud is a ploy to deceive a person for personal gain. But its specific legal meaning can sometimes be open for interpretation depending on jurisdiction.

A lot of hoaxes are fraudulent but not all can fit in its definition since there are hoaxes not made for personal gain. In the same way, it is also safe to say that not all frauds are hoaxes as in the case of electoral fraud. Fraud can be accomplished through a variety of ways including mail, phone, and even the Internet just to name a few.

In criminal law, fraud is defined as theft by deception. It is deliberately deceiving another person or group of persons in order to acquire property or services in an unjustly manner.

There are many types of fraud that can make a victim out of innocent people. Let's try to know some of the most common ones.

One of the common frauds that you are likely to encounter is of the confidence trick type. An example is the shell game wherein you are tricked into betting on a certain shell where the supposedly hidden ball can be found.

You are put into a confident situation wherein you are sure that that is where the hidden ball is. But when the shell is opened, the ball is not there.

Another form of fraud is false advertising. You encounter a product that promises to be an excellent one and is way, way more superior to its nearest competitor as stated on its advertisement.

You go out of your way just to buy the product but then you realize one startling revelation, you just found out that what the advertisement promised you were all false claims. You have just been victimized by false advertising fraud.

People can also be victims of fraud by way of forgery of documents and signatures. This type of fraud is closely related to identity theft wherein a person tries to take up your identity and forge your own signature in order to steal your own money or property.

They may be able to steal from your own checking account by signing up a check with your own forged signature.

Health fraud occurs when you are sold a health product or medicine that assures to give you a lot of benefits. But in the end, it is nothing but quack medicine that can't do anything for you.

False insurance claim is another health-related fraud that tries to victimize insurance companies by making false injury or damage claims just to obtain insurance payments.

Securities fraud occurs in the stock market wherein certain individuals try to manipulate stock prices by going through unfair insider trading. They try to accomplish through artificial means to increase the value of a certain stock.

When it reaches a certain value, they quickly sell their stock holdings before everyone else can and before the stock value falls drastically.

These are just but a few types of fraud that you are likely to encounter out there. You should always be vigilant not to fall into their trap.

A fraud may just be lurking around the corner, ready to make a victim out of you. You should always be on the lookout and try not to become one of common fraud's unsuspecting victims.