Can a fraudster be sued civilly for the damage their impersonation caused to a real collector's reputation and business?

Defamation — BNS Section 356

A fraudster who impersonates a known dealer and uses that identity to sell fake notes has, through their conduct, associated the real dealer's name with fraud. When victims of the impersonation publicise their experience — 'I was cheated by [dealer's name]' not knowing the account was fake — the real dealer's reputation suffers. This reputational harm is the direct consequence of the impersonation. The real dealer can sue the impersonator for defamation: the impersonation, though not explicitly a false statement about the dealer, had the effect of causing others to believe the dealer engaged in fraud.

Passing off — protection for commercial reputation

Passing off is the common law tort that prevents one person from misrepresenting their goods or services as those of another. A fraudster who creates a fake WhatsApp or Instagram account in a known dealer's name and uses it to sell fake notes is 'passing off' — representing their goods (fake notes) as the dealer's goods (genuine, accurately described notes). The dealer who has built a reputation for honest, expert numismatic dealing has a goodwill interest that is damaged when a fraudster trades on that goodwill without authorisation. The tort of passing off does not require trademark registration to succeed.

Damages — quantifying the reputational and business harm

Damages in an impersonation civil suit include: general damages for reputational harm (assessed by the court on the facts — the reach of the impersonating account, the number of people deceived, the duration of the fraud); special damages for identifiable financial loss (buyers who cancelled transactions with the real dealer after the impersonation; loss of business opportunities that can be documented); and punitive damages for deliberate, intentional impersonation conducted for financial gain. Courts have awarded substantial damages in passing off cases involving misuse of established commercial identities.

Laws & authorities referenced in this chapter

BNS 2023 — §356 (defamation: impersonation associating real person with fraud damages reputation)

Law of passing off — common law tort: misrepresentation of goods as another's; no trademark registration required

Code of Civil Procedure 1908 — civil suit for damages + injunction against continued impersonation

Specific Relief Act 1963 — §38 (perpetual injunction: prevent further use of real person's identity for commercial fraud)