三個單詞均有詐欺、哄騙的含義，且三者用法經常被混淆。其中，deceit多為一種可予起訴的民事侵權行為，指故意以虛假陳述或因無知傳播虛假陳述使他方當事人相信，從而導致他方當事人遭受損失之違法行為，其應為“欺騙”[1]。deception本身雖然不是罪行，但卻有多種罪行與之相關，如詐騙財產、保險單、年金合同，以詐騙行為獲取報償性工作，詐騙他人放棄債權或使自己免于債務等。它在英國法上指一種犯罪，指不誠實地獲得他人財產，或利用語言或行為或意思表達以獲得金錢上的好處，或故應譯為“詐騙”[2]。fraud被譯為“欺詐”，其涉及內容極廣，多為民事侵權行為，但也可是犯罪[3]。指為獲得物質利益而通過陳述或行為所作的虛假表示。在民法上，受欺詐 人可視其為不法侵權行為而提起損害賠償之訴，注意的是一個以欺詐為由而提起的侵權之訴也可稱為欺騙之訴（an action of deceit);在刑法上，欺詐是指蓄意的詐欺行為，為許多犯罪成立的要素[4]。
[1]“ A fraudulent and deceptive misrepresentation, artifice，or device, used by one or more persons to deceive and trick another, who is ignorant of the true facts, to the prejudice and damage of the party imposed upon. ”Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 281，West Publishing Co. (1991).
[2] Cf. David M. Walker, The Oxford Companion to Law, at p. 245, Oxford University Press, New York (1980).
[3] "A knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment. Fraud is usu. a tort, but in some cases (esp. when the conduct is willful) it may be a crime. ”Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition, at p. 670, West Group (1999).