Checking Your Confirmation Biases as Fraud Protection

By James Burrell, II, Managing Attorney at Burrell Law, P.C.

TL;DR Smart people fall for scams not despite their intelligence, but because scammers exploit the universal human tendency to believe we’re right. The message that feels most “correct” may be the most dangerous. Staying safe means sometimes listening to evidence that may not align with our beliefs prior to making a decision.

Fraudsters don’t succeed by finding gullible people—they succeed by weaponizing victims’ own beliefs against them through confirmation bias. Recent psychology research from sources including PubMed, Frontiers in Psychology, and neuroscience studies reveals that scammers deliberately identify what targets already believe (about investments, relationships, authority, etc.) and craft narratives that confirm rather than challenge those beliefs.⁴ This exploits a fundamental feature of human cognition: we naturally seek information that proves we’re right and ignore information that proves we’re wrong.⁵

The research shows three key findings: First, even financially literate and highly educated individuals fall victim to fraud when their confirmation bias is targeted—intelligence offers no protection.¹ Second, scammers create high-pressure, emotionally charged situations that trigger fast, intuitive thinking (System 1) rather than careful analysis (System 2), allowing confirmation bias to operate unchecked.² Third, brain imaging studies confirm that when people encounter information matching their beliefs, neural regions amplifying desirable messages activate while error-detection regions quiet down—literally working against rational evaluation.³

Protection requires more than awareness.⁶ Individuals must actively question information that confirms existing beliefs (especially in high-stakes decisions), impose mandatory waiting periods before significant commitments, and seek third-party review from those with different perspectives. Legal practitioners must reframe fraud victims not as foolish or gullible, but as casualties of sophisticated psychological warfare.⁷ Understanding confirmation bias as a primary fraud vector—not a minor contributing factor—is essential for effective victim representation, litigation strategy, and advocacy for regulatory reforms that disrupt these exploitative tactics.⁸

Key Statistics from Research:

• Studies show that bias-induced gullibility fully explains why financially literate people still fall for investment scams
• Training that increases awareness of confirmation bias reduces susceptibility to misinformation and improves ability to discern truth
• Fraudsters deliberately construct scenarios to prevent careful thinking—creating urgency, emotional arousal, and false authority
• Brain scans reveal that desirability bias and identity bias are neurologically distinct, but both predict vulnerability to fraud
• The most effective frauds target individuals based on personal beliefs, not demographic characteristics⁹

Practical Takeaway:

When information perfectly aligns with what you already believe—especially if it involves money, relationships, or urgent action—that’s precisely when you should be most skeptical, not least. At Burrell Law, P.C., we seek to give you the tools to help you protect yourself against scammers. Feel free to follow us on Substack or Bluesky for more!

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