Why have we still not tackled fraud?

Fraud has been around for centuries – and the same types of fraud rear their heads at different points in time.

So why haven’t we worked out how to tackle it?

In this episode of the Big Money Questions, Ed Balleisen, associate professor of history at Duke University, talks us through the history of fraud, how it has changed and where we are heading.

He explains that while fraud has always been around, the type has changed, most recently with an ‘explosion of large scale fraud’ and ‘deceptions that reach into the billions’.

Have we learned nothing? The same frauds often appear in different guises – but we still get caught out

So what has made fraud on this scale possible, and what can we do to stop it?

Ed talks through whether just more regulation is the answer (it’s not) and what responsibilities consumers should have to check up on what they’re buying or investing in and what protection they should have.

He also questions whether ‘generational amnesia’ prevents us from learning from others’ mistakes. 

Finally, what is fraud? Where do we draw the line between optimistic forecasts and intentional deception?

Ed Balleisen has just written a book on the subject: Fraud – An American History from Barnum to Madoff.