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Psychology and Law
2026. Vol. 16, no. 1, 51–64
doi:10.17759/psylaw.2026160104
ISSN: 2222-5196 (online)

Fraud as a socio-psychological phenomenon: history and approaches

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. Due to the rapidly growing threat of damage caused by fraudsters, the subject of fraud first appeared in the scientific field in the second half of the 20th century in sociological and psychological research. Until recently, mentions of the phenomenon were exclusively related to economic and legal aspects, and more recently to criminology. This phenomenon is becoming increasingly substantial to science due to the development of digital devices that have opened the way to previously unknown methods of deception. Objective. This study is an attempt to summarize and systematize the currently available research in order to develop substantive knowledge about the phenomenon of fraud and identify priority areas of study in the future. Hypothesis. The phenomenon of fraud is gaining new perspectives for further research due to the urgent practical need, existing work needs to be systematized and generalized. Methods and materials. The author examines the results of work in scientific fields: legal, social, cognitive psychology, personality psychology, cyberpsychology, criminology, sociology, as well as related fields of scientific and practical knowledge. Results. The result of this article is the systematization of existing scientific views on this issue in order to summarize existing approaches and highlight priority areas for future developments, including: social engineering, aspects of cyberfraud, and psychological vulnerabilities of victims. Conclusions. The main accents in the existing research on the phenomenon of fraud are directly the identity of the criminal, his interaction with the victim, methods and technologies of influence. At the same time, insufficient attention has been paid to the personal characteristics of the victim and the specifics of her vulnerabilities. Further research on this aspect will help expand existing understanding of the phenomenon and help minimize fraud damage.

General Information

Keywords: fraud, psychology of influence, cyberpsychology, cyberfraud, social engineering

Journal rubric: Methodological Problems of Legal Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/psylaw.2026160104

Acknowledgements. The author is grateful for assistance оf G.V. Soldatova.

Received 23.02.2025

Revised 12.06.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Buzykanova, E.V. (2026). Fraud as a socio-psychological phenomenon: history and approaches. Psychology and Law, 16(1), 51–64. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/psylaw.2026160104

© Buzykanova E.V., 2026

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Ekaterina V. Buzykanova, Graduate Student of the Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5862-7941, e-mail: kate.buzykanova@yandex.ru

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