Cheating
Updated 2026-09-29
Cheating, under the Penal Code, means dishonestly deceiving someone so they hand over property, money, or consent to something they would not have agreed to had they known the truth. It is the criminal offence underlying most scams, including investment, love, and recovery scams.
The offence focuses on dishonest intent and inducement: the scammer’s deception must be what actually caused the victim to act. A genuine mistake, without dishonest intent, is not cheating.
Cheating is investigated and prosecuted by the state, separate from a victim’s own civil claim to recover money. A police report is usually the starting point for the criminal side.
When it matters
Cheating is often the specific offence named in a police report for a scam, since it covers the deception at the heart of most scam patterns.
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