Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a
financial institution, or to obtain money from
depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a
criminal offence. While the specific elements of particular banking fraud laws vary depending on jurisdictions, the term bank fraud applies to actions that employ a scheme or artifice, as opposed to
bank robbery or theft. For this reason, bank fraud is sometimes considered a
white-collar crime.