Counterfeit of private documents: a special kind of fraud?

Abstract

This paper aims to challenge the thesis according to which counterfeiting private documents is a special form of fraud. For this purpose, it highlights the similarities and differences between the concepts of falsehood and deception. Subsequently, considering the regulating of the Chilean Penal Code, a number of distinctions between these two crimes are observed. Such distinctions focus on the historical origin and evolution; the suitability of the mendacious statement required; the structure of both criminal offences; object protected by each of them; the nature of the damage; and, finally, the role of the damage in each offence.