The Fraud Act 2006 and CIFAS markers

The Fraud Act 2006 is the primary legislation covering fraud offences in England and Wales. It defines three main fraud offences, and understanding how they relate to CIFAS markers helps you assess whether the institution's allegation has any legal basis.

The three fraud offences

• Section 2 — Fraud by false representation: making a false representation dishonestly, intending to make a gain or cause a loss
• Section 3 — Fraud by failing to disclose information: failing to disclose information you have a legal duty to disclose
• Section 4 — Fraud by abuse of position: abusing a position of trust to make a gain or cause a loss

What the law actually requires

All three offences require dishonesty. The test for dishonesty was established in the case of Ivey v Genting Casinos (2017): was the conduct dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people? This is an objective test — it does not matter whether the person realised their conduct was dishonest.

For CIFAS marker complaints, this means the institution must be able to point to conduct that ordinary decent people would consider dishonest. Mistakes, negligence, poor judgement, and civil disputes do not meet this standard.