What characterizes "soft" or opportunistic fraud?

"Soft" or opportunistic fraud is characterized primarily by the exaggeration of claims rather than outright deceitful acts like causing losses, concealing information, or deliberate misrepresentation. In this context, individuals may have a legitimate claim but may intentionally inflate the value or extent of their damages to obtain a higher payout from the insurance company.

This type of fraud is often seen as less serious than hard fraud, where individuals create fraudulent claims from scratch. With opportunistic fraud, the individual does not need to create a false situation but instead takes advantage of the circumstances around an actual claim to maximize their benefits. By understanding this concept, one can recognize the subtleties of claim filing and the distinction between genuine errors or overestimations and the more serious acts of fraud.