The psychology of fraud

Criminals fraudulently stole £1.2 billion last year from our bank accounts according to the industry body UK Finance.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg - the true scale of financial fraud is hard to put a figure on. As many as four out of five people who have been stung don't report it.

Fraud is an epidemic that’s seemingly out of control.

In this programme, Iona Bain asks why do we fall for fraudsters?

How do they manage to dupe us into hitting the transfer button on fraudulent transactions worth thousands of pounds? Can understanding this give us more of a fighting chance against them? And what’s the role of technology in all of this - both as a catalyst and as a possible cure?

Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon