The elements of estafa in general are the following: (a) that an accused

defrauded another by abuse of confidence, or by means of deceit; and (b)

that damage and prejudice capable of pecuniary estimation is caused the
offended party or third person.

The elements of Estafa by means of deceit are as follows:

(a) That there must be false pretenses, fraudulent act or fraudulent means;

(b) That such pretenses, fraudulent act or fraudulent means must be made or executed prior
to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud;

(c) That the offended party must have relied on the false pretense, fraudulent act or
fraudulent means, that is, he was induced to part with his money or property because of false
pretense, fraudulent act, or fraudulent means;

(d) That as a result thereof, the offended party suffered damage.iii

(Art 315 2a)

i) By using a fictitious name.

ii) By falsely pretending to possess

xxx

iii) By means of other similar deceits

(Art 315 3a)

a) By inducing another to sign any document

The elements are:

i) That the offender induced the offended party to sign a document;

ii) That deceit be employed to make him sign the document;

iii) That the offended party personally signed the document;

iv) That prejudice be caused.

As a general rule, in order to constitute deceit, there must be a false representation as a

matter of fact, a positive assertion of falsehood. (People vs. Manahan, CA- G.R. No.
19602-R, 20 May 1958)

In other words, read properly, the Revised Penal Code punishes as estafa all kinds of frauds
and false pretenses causing damage to another (G.R. No. L-45490 November 20, 1978)