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The FUTURES Series
The Future of Fraud
FRAUD IS A BIG BUSINESS: Discover the ways fraudsters target us, what future technological threats await us—and how we can protect ourselves.
The latest edition in the FUTURES series takes you inside the world of fraud through popular true crime cases, from phone and banking scams to cryptocurrency boondoggles . . .
Humans have been ripping each other off since they first discovered the concept of lying but in 300 BC, the first ever official record of a fraud case was made. A merchant in Greece took out an insurance policy, borrowed money and planned to sink his boat. Unfortunately for him, things did not go according to plan. Since then, fraud has become more complex and harder to detect, as technology has evolved. So how can we protect ourselves now and in the future, and what new dangers do we need to be looking out for?
Deeply researched and littered with expert interviews, The Future of Fraud will explore interesting fraud cases past and present, and expose how the technology we depend upon today is also perfectly poised to exploit us: from social media, the dark web and gaming, to cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. And as well as parting us from our money, fraud is eroding the trust between humans and the state, and between each other.
The only way to tackle the fraud epidemic, argues Holmes, is head on, via education, language, technology and regulation. We need everyone to understand the dangers and have protections in place to stop the bad guys. Are we fighting a losing battle, or can we make the future a safer place for everyone?
'I learnt something new on every page. Fifty per cent terrifying, fifty per cent reassuring, this book is like kryptonite when a scammer strikes.' Jeremy Vine
'This book is what we’ve been missing, a brilliantly organised account of a social menace. Becky Holmes writes with wit and insight on a subject we all need to get on top of, lest it gets on top of us.' Daniel Finkelstein, columnist for The Times
'As an anti-financial crime professional, I couldn’t point to a better and more readable source than this.' Ray Blake, The Dark Money Files
Becky Holmes is the creator of and voice behind the popular X account @deathtospinach, where she publicly ‘outs’ online fraudsters. Her first bookabout romance fraud, Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You, was published by Unbound in 2024. She is well-respected in the fraud industry and is regularly called upon as a media talking head and to speak at conferences alongside other industry experts. She lives in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
The latest edition in the FUTURES series takes you inside the world of fraud through popular true crime cases, from phone and banking scams to cryptocurrency boondoggles . . .
Humans have been ripping each other off since they first discovered the concept of lying but in 300 BC, the first ever official record of a fraud case was made. A merchant in Greece took out an insurance policy, borrowed money and planned to sink his boat. Unfortunately for him, things did not go according to plan. Since then, fraud has become more complex and harder to detect, as technology has evolved. So how can we protect ourselves now and in the future, and what new dangers do we need to be looking out for?
Deeply researched and littered with expert interviews, The Future of Fraud will explore interesting fraud cases past and present, and expose how the technology we depend upon today is also perfectly poised to exploit us: from social media, the dark web and gaming, to cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. And as well as parting us from our money, fraud is eroding the trust between humans and the state, and between each other.
The only way to tackle the fraud epidemic, argues Holmes, is head on, via education, language, technology and regulation. We need everyone to understand the dangers and have protections in place to stop the bad guys. Are we fighting a losing battle, or can we make the future a safer place for everyone?
'I learnt something new on every page. Fifty per cent terrifying, fifty per cent reassuring, this book is like kryptonite when a scammer strikes.' Jeremy Vine
'This book is what we’ve been missing, a brilliantly organised account of a social menace. Becky Holmes writes with wit and insight on a subject we all need to get on top of, lest it gets on top of us.' Daniel Finkelstein, columnist for The Times
'As an anti-financial crime professional, I couldn’t point to a better and more readable source than this.' Ray Blake, The Dark Money Files
Becky Holmes is the creator of and voice behind the popular X account @deathtospinach, where she publicly ‘outs’ online fraudsters. Her first bookabout romance fraud, Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You, was published by Unbound in 2024. She is well-respected in the fraud industry and is regularly called upon as a media talking head and to speak at conferences alongside other industry experts. She lives in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
128 pages, Paperback
Published April 21, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 27, 2026
The Future of Fraud by Becky Holmes published April 23rd with Melville House and is part of the FUTURES Series. it is described as a book that ‘takes you inside the world of fraud through popular true crime cases, from phone and banking scams to cryptocurrency boondoggles.’
This compact book is one that offers a glimmer of hope for us all as we face into the unknown – the future. A self-confessed social media junkie, Becky Holmes provides a concise overview of the potential of fraudulent behaviour crossing all our paths at some point in our lives. Many of us online have been targeted with collaboration requests, monetary requests, love angle requests and so on but how many get caught out and fall for these scams? Unfortunately, too many, and, as these fraudsters get smarter with technological advances, how difficult will it become for any of us to spot a trickster?
Becky Holmes writes with humour and astuteness as she takes the reader on an informative journey about fraud through the ages. From Greek chancers in 300BC to Michelangelo, Isaac Newton and more we see how fraudulent activity has been part of society from the very beginning.
Artificial Intelligence is one obvious danger for many of us everyday users of smarter technology, with naivety often coming into play. We might blindly accept what we see in the summarised information in search engines or be tempted by what an influencer might post to their feed. We might fall for a plea from an individual in trouble or we might send money via a link that appears honest. How do we navigate fact from fake and how do we protect ourselves?
My one major takeaway from this book is the necessity for education. If we don’t lean in to improving our own knowledge, and that of our children, we will very quickly leave ourselves wide open to swindlers and deceptive behaviour. Packed with fascinating, but not overwhelming facts. The Future of Fraud outlines what we can expect to see in the coming decades and how to prepare ourselves for it. This pocket-sized and engaging read is very accessible and well-researched, a handy reference as a reminder to stay on the ball and be careful who you trust!!
‘Fortunately, our world has more good people than bad, and some of those good people are incredibly clever.’
This compact book is one that offers a glimmer of hope for us all as we face into the unknown – the future. A self-confessed social media junkie, Becky Holmes provides a concise overview of the potential of fraudulent behaviour crossing all our paths at some point in our lives. Many of us online have been targeted with collaboration requests, monetary requests, love angle requests and so on but how many get caught out and fall for these scams? Unfortunately, too many, and, as these fraudsters get smarter with technological advances, how difficult will it become for any of us to spot a trickster?
Becky Holmes writes with humour and astuteness as she takes the reader on an informative journey about fraud through the ages. From Greek chancers in 300BC to Michelangelo, Isaac Newton and more we see how fraudulent activity has been part of society from the very beginning.
Artificial Intelligence is one obvious danger for many of us everyday users of smarter technology, with naivety often coming into play. We might blindly accept what we see in the summarised information in search engines or be tempted by what an influencer might post to their feed. We might fall for a plea from an individual in trouble or we might send money via a link that appears honest. How do we navigate fact from fake and how do we protect ourselves?
My one major takeaway from this book is the necessity for education. If we don’t lean in to improving our own knowledge, and that of our children, we will very quickly leave ourselves wide open to swindlers and deceptive behaviour. Packed with fascinating, but not overwhelming facts. The Future of Fraud outlines what we can expect to see in the coming decades and how to prepare ourselves for it. This pocket-sized and engaging read is very accessible and well-researched, a handy reference as a reminder to stay on the ball and be careful who you trust!!
‘Fortunately, our world has more good people than bad, and some of those good people are incredibly clever.’
May 2, 2026
When thinking about fraud, I would probably assume I’d be able to spot a scammer. But reading “The Future of Fraud” by Becky Holmes – the latest book in the FUTURES series from Melville House – I realised that this is something that could happen to anyone; and with this book Holmes hopes to better arm us to combat any that come our way.
To help us understand fraud now and in the future, Holmes first takes us on a trip to the past – from dodgy Ancient Egyptian tax collectors to British cheese-making fraud in the Middle Ages. And while the historic examples might seem old-fashioned and even humorous in today’s high-tech world, many of the fundamentals are still just as effective…
Moving to the present day, and as you might expect, fraud has never been so rife. Terrifyingly, in 2024 consumers were defrauded out of 1 trillion US dollars (and that’s just what is known). Holmes suggests potential reasons for this, including comparatively lenient punishment for perpetrators of fraud, and increasingly sophisticated technology.
So what does this mean for the future, and most importantly, what can we do about it? While online fraud will of course continue to grow in sophistication, Holmes doesn’t discount face-to-face or phone scams either. But no discussion on anything is complete at the moment without including AI, and Holmes discusses this, and the world of digital fraud more broadly, in probably the most troubling section of the book.
But there is also ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, and the book concludes by highlighting some of the ways people are already working to minimise the future impact of fraud and ways the author hopes this might evolve. And in the final chapter, Holmes sums up what needs to be done, including the importance of better education around fraud for those of all ages, and provides a useful list of actions we can all take to protect ourselves better.
Overall, I found this a surprisingly readable book on a subject I knew less about than I thought! Although a lot of the information is concerning, the book is also a very useful and accessible overview on a topic we could all benefit from knowing more about.
To help us understand fraud now and in the future, Holmes first takes us on a trip to the past – from dodgy Ancient Egyptian tax collectors to British cheese-making fraud in the Middle Ages. And while the historic examples might seem old-fashioned and even humorous in today’s high-tech world, many of the fundamentals are still just as effective…
Moving to the present day, and as you might expect, fraud has never been so rife. Terrifyingly, in 2024 consumers were defrauded out of 1 trillion US dollars (and that’s just what is known). Holmes suggests potential reasons for this, including comparatively lenient punishment for perpetrators of fraud, and increasingly sophisticated technology.
So what does this mean for the future, and most importantly, what can we do about it? While online fraud will of course continue to grow in sophistication, Holmes doesn’t discount face-to-face or phone scams either. But no discussion on anything is complete at the moment without including AI, and Holmes discusses this, and the world of digital fraud more broadly, in probably the most troubling section of the book.
But there is also ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, and the book concludes by highlighting some of the ways people are already working to minimise the future impact of fraud and ways the author hopes this might evolve. And in the final chapter, Holmes sums up what needs to be done, including the importance of better education around fraud for those of all ages, and provides a useful list of actions we can all take to protect ourselves better.
Overall, I found this a surprisingly readable book on a subject I knew less about than I thought! Although a lot of the information is concerning, the book is also a very useful and accessible overview on a topic we could all benefit from knowing more about.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
It is clear from the outset that Holmes is passionate and well researched in the subject of fraud. Going through a past/present/future journey, there are some wonderful historic anecdotal stories, but also plenty of food for thought in this read. This could be a scary subject but Holmes makes this, interesting and digestible. I came away feeling like I had extra tools in the fraud toolbox rather than intimidated or worried for the future.
Another wonderful addition to this series.
Another wonderful addition to this series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews