Why are we so easily fooled by fraudsters like DJ Carey?

Most of us are vulnerable to charm, celebrity, and hope — DJ Carey is just the latest in a long line of fraudsters like Lance Armstrong and Belle Gibson to exploit trusting fans

By modern standards, Carey’s fraud was relatively unsophisticated — falsified hospital letters and an iPhone cable bandaged to his nose. Many of us think we’d have spotted the red flags. Picture: IrishPhotoDesk.ie

We shouldn’t be surprised by fraud – yet frequently are. All-Ireland Kilkenny hurler and national sports personality DJ Carey crossed a line. 

For scamming victims out of nearly €400,000, he received a five-and-a-half-year sentence. Moral outrage lies less in the scale of the deceit and more in its weaponisation of trust and chosen prop: faking cancer.