Internet Fraud and Article 180 – What the Law Treats as Fraud
Article 180 of the Criminal Code of Georgia defines fraud as the unlawful appropriation of another person's property, or the acquisition of a property right, by deception. Fraud committed on the internet falls squarely within this definition: the deception is carried out through a fake page, digital communication, a false offer or another online channel, but in legal terms the offence is the same – taking another's property or a property right by deception under the guise of a lawful transaction. Cases of this kind are therefore qualified under this article, and the sanctions set out below apply to them.
Two elements are decisive under the article – deception and the aim of appropriation. The prosecution must prove that the person supplied the victim with information that created a false impression, and that, relying on that false impression, the person appropriated another's property or acquired a property right. The online environment does not change this scheme – it is merely the channel of the deception, which matters for the defense, because each element must be verified separately against the case materials.