The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion and Scam Techniques : Understanding What Makes Us Vulnerable

__The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion and Scam Techniques__ provides an in-depth explanation of not only why we fall for scams and how fraudsters use technology and other techniques to manipulate others, but also why fraud prevention advice is not always effective. Starting with how fraud victimisation is perceived by society and why fraud is underreported, the book explores the different types of fraud and the human and demographic factors that make us vulnerable. It explains how fraud has become increasingly sophisticated and how fraudsters use communication, deception and theories of rationality, cognition and judgmental heuristics, as well as specific persuasion and scam techniques, to encourage compliance. Covering frauds including romance scams and phishing attacks such as advance fee frauds and so-called miracle cures, the book explores ways we can learn to spot scams and persuasive communication, with checklists and advice for reflection and protection. Featuring a set of practical guidelines to reduce fraud vulnerability, advice on how to effectively report fraud and educative case studies and examples, this easy-to-read, instructive book is essential reading for fraud prevention specialists, fraud victims and academics and students interested in the psychology of fraud. The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion and Scam Techniques provides an in-depth explanation of not only why we fall for scams and how fraudsters use technology and other techniques to manipulate others, but also why fraud prevention advice is not always effective.Starting with how fraud victimisation is perceived by society and why fraud is underreported, the book explores the different types of fraud and the human and demographic factors that make us vulnerable. It explains how fraud has become increasingly sophisticated and how fraudsters use communication, deception and theories of rationality, cognition and judgmental heuristics, as well as specific persuasion and scam techniques, to encourage compliance. Covering frauds including romance scams and phishing attacks such as advance fee frauds and so-called miracle cures, the book explores ways we can learn to spot scams and persuasive communication, with checklists and advice for reflection and protection.Featuring a set of practical guidelines to reduce fraud vulnerability, advice on how to effectively report fraud and educative case studies and examples, this easy-to-read, instructive book is essential reading for fraud prevention specialists, fraud victims and academics and students interested in the psychology of fraud. Cover 1 Endorsement 2 Half Title 4 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Dedication 8 Table of contents 10 Figures 13 Foreword 14 Acknowledgements 16 Chapter 1 Introduction 18 My scam experience 18 Anatomy of the scam experience 19 Contents 20 Chapter 2 What is fraud and who are the fraudsters? 22 What is fraud? 22 When is fraud a fraud? 23 Who are the fraudsters? 25 Fraud taxonomy 28 Fraud reporting and sanctions 30 Fraud victimisation from the victim’s perspective 31 Chapter 3 Different types of frauds and scams 33 Nigerian or advance fee frauds 33 Identity and synthetic fraud 35 Romance scams 36 Phishing and other social engineering attacks 37 Psychic or clairvoyant scams and cold readings 38 Miracle cures 38 Charity scams and crowdfunding campaigns 39 Lotteries, prize draws, sweepstakes and giveaways 40 Investment or business opportunities and job scams 40 Sextortion and extortion scams 41 Mortgage fraud 43 Food fraud 44 Further reading 45 Chapter 4 Deception and communication 46 The process of communication 46 Deceptive communication 50 View of deception through cultural and societal conventions 52 Detecting deception 53 How fraudsters deceive 55 Deception and its role in fraud victimisation 57 Note 59 Further reading 59 Chapter 5 How we think and make decisions and why this matters in fraud situations 60 System 1 and System 2 60 Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion 62 Decision-making styles 63 Cognitive biases 64 Framing effects 64 The Barnum effect 66 Anchoring effect 67 Illusion of control and just world hypothesis 68 Sunk-cost fallacy 69 Further reading 70 Chapter 6 Persuasion and scamming techniques 72 Evoking visceral influence 72 Liking and similarity 73 Credibility and legitimacy 74 Evoking social norms 75 Authority 75 Commitment and consistency 76 Scarcity and urgency 76 Social proof and social influence 78 Dishonesty and distraction 78 Priming 79 Altercasting 81 Grooming 82 Further reading 83 Chapter 7 Human factors in fraud 84 Impulsivity and self-control 85 Compliance and obedience to authority 86 Risk assessment and sensation seeking 87 Flattery and intimidation 88 Information processing and need for cognition 88 Trust and gullibility 89 Vigilance, delayed decisions, scam awareness and background knowledge 91 Demographics and circumstances 93 Behaviours and beliefs 95 Human factors and information security 96 Further reading 98 Chapter 8 Theories and models that could explain why we fall victim to fraud and scams 99 Errors in judgment 99 The Model of Scamming Vulnerability 100 Models of Gullible and Foolish Action 101 Phishing susceptibility framework 102 Suspicion, Cognition and Automacity Model of phishing susceptibility 104 The Model of Fraud Susceptibility 105 Chapter 9 Learning to spot scams, fraud and persuasive communication 108 Scam situations and factors that contribute to compliance 108 Spotting scam techniques in phishing correspondence 122 Chapter 10 SCAMS checklist: Advice for reflection and protection 137 Scrutinise the correspondence 138 Consider scam techniques 141 Assess emotional state 142 Moderate the response 144 Share your experience with others 146 References 149 Index 168 "The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion and Scam Techniques provides an in-depth explanation of not only why we fall for scams and how fraudsters use technology and other techniques to manipulate others, but also why fraud prevention advice is not always effective. Starting with how fraud victimisation is perceived by society and why fraud is underreported, the book explores the different types of fraud and the human and demographic factors that make us vulnerable. It explains how fraud has become increasingly sophisticated and how fraudsters use communication, deception and theories of rationality, cognition and judgmental heuristics, as well as specific persuasion and scam techniques, to encourage compliance. Covering frauds including romance scams and phishing attacks such as advance fee frauds and so-called miracle cures, the book explores way we can learn to spot scams and persuasive communication, with checklists and advice for reflection and protection. Featuring a set of practical guidelines to reduce fraud vulnerability, advice on how to effectively report fraud and educative case studies and examples, this easy-to-read, instructive book is essential reading for fraud prevention specialists, fraud victims, and academics and students interested in the psychology of fraud"-- Provided by publisher