Istanbul Gelisim University - Psychiatrist Demirci: Fraud is not a disease, but addiction

Psychiatrist Demirci: Fraud is not a disease, but addiction

Psychiatrist Onur Okan Demirci stating that the fraudsters continued to take action even if they were punished, said: “Fraud triggers mechanisms such as pleasure, rather than illness. In this sense, it may be more appropriate to call fraud a dependence rather than a disease.

Fraud incidents, which often happen to people, and many have a fearful dream, have a serious impact on psychology. Pointing out that scammers see it as a business, Faculty member of Istanbul Gelisim University Asst. Prof. Onur Okan Demirci made statement on the psychological conditions of these people. Psychiatrist Onur Okan Demirci said that looking at the events in history, this is common all over the World and added: “For many years, the psychology community has presented research, seminars and articles to the scientific community. When you look at fraud in history, you can see that it is common in the world not only in Turkey. In famous fraud cases, scammers give themselves a different identity.”

THEY BELIEVE IN THEIR OWN LIES

Psychiatrist Demirci stating that the common feature of scammers is credibility, added: “The more a person believes in his own lie, the more realistic he becomes. You know, we say, "You say something forty times, it happens". And if you tell a lie forty times, it will be believable, and it is a lie that a liar also believes. Researches suggest that situations such as fraud and dishonesty are not personality disorders. Personality disorder is not different from having depression, anxiety disorder”

NEW TYPE OF ADDICTION: FRAUD ADDICTION

Stressing that the world of science links the behaviors of fraudsters to social and cultural structure rather than genetic or biological structure, Demirci continued:

“The family environment and social environment in which these people are raised paves the way for this situation. Fraudsters attempt to continue fraud even if they are punished. This situation is more likely to trigger mechanisms such as pleasure, rather than a disease. The biological mechanisms of fraudsters are similar to the mechanisms of dependence. This does not mean that addicts are also scammers. It can also show that the system of pleasure and reward is activated. In this sense, it may be more appropriate to call fraud a dependence rather than a disease. A new type of addiction may arise, fraud addiction.”

“THEY BECOME CONVINCING THANKS TO EGOS”

Psychiatrist Onur Okan Demirci emphasizing that scammers have a very high ego, added: “In this way, they can be quite convincing. This may be caused by their being raised as invisible, inadequate or unnoticed children in their family and social environment. While biological psychiatry theories connect this situation to the reward center in the brain, social psychology theories connect this situation to the family structure. Both seem to be true when we look at them as a whole”.