Stories about Frauds and the mind of a fraudster !

 Stories about Frauds and the Mind of a Fraudster

Dinesh Kumar Kapila

Just an opening question to lead into the topic, why do some men, even seventy plus years old, fall for the oldest fraud in the world, that a young lady out of nowhere is calling up and is genuinely interested in them, then repenting after sometimes paying out huge sums. Before trusting the Fraudster, they should simply look at the mirror and know their own reality ! This question is to lead into the issue, the flavour of it. 

A friend of many years was speaking to me today. The name of a mutual acquaintance came up as we talked, I came to know that inspite of a stellar and well known track record in committing frauds, this mutual acquaintance had pulled off yet another fraud. Even after knowing about him, the victim still played along, believing he, the victim was also onto something major to gain. And the amount was also substantial. Yet it happened. And ever so smoothly. 

No matter the fall out or the repercussions, a Fraudster at times gets into the game of it, it’s his high, as with alcohol with some. As I told my friend, the mind of a fraudster operates on a complex blend of psychological rationalization, risk tolerance, and the exploitation of human vulnerabilities like greed, trust and fear. Even love or romance, yes, even this, even with old people. Human frailties. 

Most perpetrators as first-time offenders who justify their actions by convincing themselves they are only temporarily "borrowing" the funds or exploiting a faceless entity. Then once they get some success, greed cum confidence takes over as also the ‘high’ in committing the fraud. Fraudsters primarily rely on cognitive biases and emotional manipulation to bypass their victims' critical thinking. According to psychological models like the Fraud Triangle, these crimes emerge at the intersection of three factors, the first is pressure, a pressing financial need, personal debt, or unmanageable lifestyle expectation. The second is opportunity, a structural vulnerability, lack of internal controls, or authorized access that makes the fraud seem achievable without immediate detection. The third is rationalization, the mental gymnastics used to normalize the theft. And a fraudster tends to repeat his or her pattern of play and deceit.

Coming to deceit and the dash of love and romance it it, there was this retired officer, had held major responsibilities. Now well into old age. He got a call, a young nubile voice saying she saw his profile and was really impressed by him. Not being on social media at all, our old guy, probably loving the dulcet tones and conversation, forgot to ask where exactly she had seen his handsome profile. This is the point, he was hooked, already, the chats went onto video calls and well then they went ‘au naturel’ if you get it. As per the gentleman, first the young lady and then him. And then an aggressive guy got into the video stating he had caught them ‘in flagrante delicto", disrobed so to say, and demanded a huge sum of money. Well, with great difficulty the issue was addressed, discreetly and effectively. By refusing to pay and keeping the morale of the victim high. And switching off the phone and buying a new phone and sim. But as the victim confessed, he just lost his powers of analysis and intelligence. It was as though it was all too good to be true., The fact is that Men often place implicit trust in young women due to evolutionary instincts, the desire for validation, and psychological blind spots, which leaves them highly vulnerable to various financial frauds. Men do at times tend to implicitly attribute positive traits, like honesty, warmth, and innocence, to women, total strangers, if they find them physically attractive. And the red flags are royally ignored.

This is  a common feedback, that the victim was cajoled or simply guided or coaxed into a certain line of action. There was this gentleman, who took multiple life insurance policies from a private sector insurer. Three years or so on, he found paying such huge premiums burdensome, he applied for encashing out. Obviously the system of checks and balanced as regards security was weak at the company. He got a call, that instead of a measly amount to be paid out less penalties, he would be paid the total amount due as if he had retained the policies and paid the premiums consistently. Only an upfront incentive was required. To pay, hold your breath, the officers at the Department of Financial Services, Govt of India, The Reserve Bank of India and senior officers of the company. This was a major red flag, not at all possible, but the bait of getting Rs one crore plus worked, in instalments the fraudsters coaxed Rs fourteen lakh out of him. He came to me, hoping against hope  that the so called letter of transmittal from the RBI was correct, I sadly had to tell him to run to the Cyber Crime Police Station. He would not believe me, he did not want too. Disbelief, even if his rational brain accepted it. 

Experts at major financial institutions and investigative bodies constantly monitor the evolving psychological tactics scammers use to target everyday consumers. The idea is to get you to feel very emotionally flustered so that you would not think too much about it and comply with the demand. Some will take advantage of the trust they cultivate and strike ruthlessly, the victims keep saying he was like my nephew, so well mannered.  To the fraudster the victim is another success. The only way out is to protect oneself by staying alert and watchful at all times. Even if caught off guard in a busy moment, be aware and question yourself as to why a stranger is asking questions about your digital data and the like. One busy professional I know, drowning in work, got a call about his account being closed as he had forgotten to submit his documents as regards his identity. Absent minded, not alert, he had already parted with a wealth of data but his wife saved him by entering the room and sensing the situation as her mobile was just disabled, disconnected the phone of her husband and blocked all the accounts. One simply has to stay alert. This talented professional just got coaxed by a very professional sounding apparently empathetic Fraudster.

Scammers try to get the targeted victims to act quickly before they can think rationally, since scammers even impersonate trusted figures, to persuade victims to take certain actions. Tricks used are normally your electricity connection is being disconnected and you could pay an X amount at a link, with a phone number provided. A person I know got such a message and rang me up. I advised him to simply ignore the message, the person rang up the number which was provided and then rang me to say he had been assured by the person it was not a fraud. I again told him it’s a scam but he was adamant. After this, I let it be, the amount was around Rs 7500/- and the lesson had to be learnt by him the hard way.

Men often send affectionate texts to women they barely know because they fall for the scammer’s initial tactic of excessive flattery and attention to quickly build trust. Some men read signals which are simply not there too !! And they pay for it. Here is a story, factual but I think it’s more a question of ethics cum fraud. A person I trust rang up to state that his next door neighbour, physically unwell for some time, had requested him to visit the bank where the neighbour had his account, to cross check deposits made by his relationship manager on his behalf. I told my friend to first check the victim’s sms alerts, there were no alerts. This was not good. The victim though not really old, had been unwell and had requested the relationship manager to deposit some cash at the bank time to time. It was by now around Rs 5.50 lakh. All paid as cash and there was no proof of handing it over except that the CCTV indicated the visits to the apartment on the dates so stated. I told my friend to meet the young lady, the relationship manager in question, and firmly but politely advise her to repay the money immediately failing which the branch head would be alerted. We both agreed on this. A couple of hours later, my friend called again, he was laughing away, our victim, recovering from a major illness and bedridden had been sending out rather explicit declarations of admiration to the young lady. The relationship manager had shown him the messages and said in case of any complaint, she would firstly deny she had accepted any cash for depositing at the bank and secondly she would send the messages of love and passion to the wife of the victim and his daughter. The victim decided to just forgo the money. Immediately.  No further action was undertaken. I wanted to pursue the matter but the victim told us to leave him alone. Even got angry with us. Here ethics, fraud and revenge all seem to be enmeshed together.

We must also know the mindset of a financial or banking fraud victim. It is normally characterized by a "dual reality", a temporary state of high-stress vulnerability during the scam, followed by a traumatic aftermath involving betrayal, deep-seated shame, self-blame, and a crippling erosion of confidence in their own financial decision-making. It’s a major trauma. Stress, financial pressure, or loneliness activates the brain's emotional center, suppressing logical reasoning and forcing rapid, intuitive action rather than careful analysis. Scammers rely on manufactured urgency to force the victim into causing them to miss obvious red flags, it’s a strong mental overload. Because financial scams are frequently viewed by society as a sign of foolishness or simply naivety, victims often internalize the blame. This immense shame and fear of judgment causes severe emotional distress and prevents them from reporting the crime.

There is the reality of our fear of the police which leads to the fraud perpetrated through the digital house arrest mode. This is more a mix of fear and a lack of self confidence, but that is sadly our culture. Its misuse encourages us to believe the fraudsters. Fear of authorities was used to defraud an old couple, that their son was being thrashed by cops in the USA after he smashed a bottle of beer over the head of a Gora. Goras are supreme. The high pitched hysterical  conversation was in Punjabi with a so called lawyer intervening and stating he needed Rs seven lakh to get the son out, the bribe so to say. The parents thought it really was their son’s best friend at the college there Confused, groggy from the early morning calls, they went to the Bank and transferred the money to accounts in India, the fear for their son clouded their judgement. 

And then she flew in from a city in the South of our country. He was after a couple of decades or so falling out of love.in what he thought now was a boring marriage. They had met online and this was their first actual meeting. They travelled and moved around, he was happy and so was she. It was discreetly done. He showered her with gifts and all his love. It seemed he was very much in love again. Life seemed so much better. Then she flew back with a great romantic plan for building a life ahead. He had entrusted her with some funds to explore a business opportunity too. And then nothing. She went off without a trace. He tried. The address was not there. He feeling rather foolish went quiet, retreated into a shell and was obviously out of love again. And that is that. Of course he got ridiculed too !! Even if behind his back. 

So Stay alert! Be watchful !! Be careful !! Don’t switch off the rational part of the brain !!