Henry Hinds wrote:
Mario Chavez wrote:
The first thing that came to mind was the traditional Nigerian scam. You know, emails purporting to offer a large sum of money in exchange for bank info. Or other emails promising money in exchange of forwarding the offending email to all your friends. I can't believe any sentient person would fall for those though.
Now, one thing is to be scammed, another thing is to be a victim of fraud (nonpayment of a billed job, for example). The risk of fraud is inherent in all business dealings; that's why due diligence is paramount.
So, I would suggest a better clarification of the term "scammed." Better yet, let's stay away from American English colloquialisms.
A scam IS fraud, they are the same thing, THEFT, a crime. Non-payment of a billed job is NOT necessarily fraud. For it to be such one would have to prove that the party owing had no intention of paying and was attempting to steal which is a crime, and in a non-payment situation that is not so easy to prove. The fact that a party fails to pay because of insolvency, poor management and a thousand other excuses is not a crime, it is merely a case for civil action to collect.
Clarification: SCAM = FRAUD.
And Mario, if you do not know those American English colloquialisms, I suggest you start learning; after all they are part of what we have to deal with in our profession. But you're right, some risk is inherent in all business dealings, but many times it cannot be classified as fraud.
I am not a native English speaker but upon consulting the OALD I've found the following definitions:
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/scam
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/fraud
As you rightly put it, a non-payment may not necessarily constitute a fraud (or scam). Thank you for clearing this up!
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