Story

**The publication of SAFE WORD: NO**

Advances in technology have, for hundreds of years, made it easier for criminals to convince ordinary people of their lies.

Advances have led to the industrialisation of fraud and now everyone in business and everyone in their personal life is at risk.

One of the reasons so many frauds are successful is because people think it won't happen to them, or they think they would be quick enough to spot a fraud. But the evidence is to the contrary: experienced political figures, business people, lawyers, judges, teachers, civil servants and, of course people who run and manage businesses are all targets.

But despite literally thousands of years of attempts to warn potential victims, the message has not got through.

Nigel Morris-Cotterill, a pioneer in financial crime risk and compliance, says "people are resistant to having "the talk." So when a school or social club or even a business group arranges a speaker or when a documentary comes on tv or, even, when a podcast is released, most people just don't want to know. They don't heed warnings on the very social media that fraudsters have turned into fertile ground. "

Morris-Cotterill says that we don't talk about fraud enough and we need to and the starting point should be in families and in the workplace and social environments.

In SAFE WORD: NO, published in January 2025 and available worldwide through Amazon, Morris-Cotterill avoids the descent into detail that makes starting discussions hard. Instead he concentrates on identifying and reacting to fraud regardless of the "hook" and the medium used by the criminal.

Fraud is endemic and as one of the tag lines for the book says "you aren't paranoid: they really are out to get you" and with fraud, on some estimates, now being the world's third biggest industry by value, that is really not overstating the case.

"People are reluctant to say "no" especially to someone they have just had a first contact with and even more where some kind of relationship has developed: many people think it's rude to say "no"", he says.

But the only way to avoid fraud is to identify it early and reject the fraudster. As the other tag line for the book says "the fraudster can't win if the victim won't play the game."

"We have created a dedicated section: Fraud of the Day at WorldMoneyLaunderingReport.com to provide a steady flow of topics for discussion.

Details and contact via www.vortexcentrum.com. Interviews are conducted online in audio or video or in person in Kuala Lumpur.

Company address and contact information

Full information via www.vortexcentrum.com