Frauds are broadly classified into Documentary, Shipping and Charterparty frauds.

1. Documentary: Some or all of the documents specified by the buyer for presentation by the seller to the bank to receive payments are forged.
2. Shipping: It includes scuttling, deviation, cargo theft, arson or so called accidental fires in which vessel or cargo isdisposed of with the connivance of her owners.
3. Charter Party: It occurs when one or two contracting parties default, leaving the others to clear the mess. These contracting parties for a Time or Voyage charter are shipowner, charterer and cargo owner. Such frauds were not uncommon in the past but the problems escalated following oil boom, excess tonnage, congested ports, inexperienced developing countries in international trade and disturbed political or social conditions in various countries.
4. Theft of cargo by crew.

1. Master and / or Chief steward manipulating stores and victualling invoices by signing for unreceived goods and sharing the loot with the supplier.
2. Senior deck officer(s) and / or ship’s crew selling ship stores or cargo.
3. Senior ship engineer(s) selling bunkers by signing for more and receiving less on their ships and manipulating the shortage through cargo residues(diesel) on oil tankers.
4. Senior ship engineers agreeing to accept substandard machinery spares.
5. Senior deck officers manipulating B/L figures
6. Ship superintendents acting alone or in liaison with senior deck officers inflating invoices with stores / spares and/or repair work not carried out in repair yards.
7. Cargo surveyors in liaison with senior deck officers, manipulating daily outturn figs to boost their ratings. This is most common on bulk carriers.
8. Agents, stevedores, suppliers, manipulating invoices in liaison with senior officers on board.
9. Ship manning agents manipulating salaries of the ship crew.
10. Ship manning agents supplying uncertified crew on board for less salary, by using fake certificates, CDC etc.
11. Senior officers on board manipulating Oil record book figures to hide deficiency in ship machinery and pumping residues overboard through portable hoses.
12. Senior deck officers manipulating cargo figures on oil tankers and pumping residues(diesel) to bunker tanks in liaison with ship owner, managers.
13. Ship’s crew and/or Master illegally carrying stowaways intentionally.
14. Ship’s crew and/or Master carrying contraband on board.
15. Insurance frauds committed by ship owners/Managers by manipulating ship records in liaison with ship officers and Master, which may include death on board (Homicides shown as suicides)