“Fraud makes up between 40 and 50 percent of all crime in the UK. Police resource dedicated to fraud: 1 percent. No country is giving fraud the attention it deserves.” — Becky Holmes

Was Shakespeare a fraud? Possibly, says Becky Holmes, the Stratford-upon-Avon-based writer and the lady behind the X account @deathtospinach. She should know. Best known as the author of Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You, a cult hit among the romance fraud crowd, Holmes’ latest book is The Future of Fraud. It’s a short, sharp, witty history and anatomy of fraud, from the first recorded case in ancient Greece to today’s AI-enabled deepfakes and romance scams.

Holmes’ most alarming statistic is that fraud accounts for between 40 and 50 percent of all crime in the United Kingdom, while only 1% of police resources are dedicated to investigating it. No wonder so few fraudsters are ever prosecuted. Holmes wants more Sherlocks. She wants fraud awareness on every school curriculum. And she wants our language to change. No, you didn’t “fall for” a scam. Your money was stolen from you. As if you were mugged on the street or your home was broken into.

The internet was bad enough for fraud. But AI, she warns, offers online criminals even more opportunity. It’s not just Keanu Reeves who isn’t in love with you. Never trust a handsome soldier, she says. Especially a virtual one.

Five Takeaways

• The First Recorded Fraud: 300 BC. A Greek merchant insured his boat, borrowed money, and planned to sink it. It didn’t go according to plan. But the structure hasn’t changed in 2,300 years: getting something from someone by not telling the truth.

• AI Has Erased All the Red Flags. If he won’t do a video call — suspicious. If the voice sounds wrong — suspicious. AI has rendered all of these warnings useless. Deepfakes mean you can’t trust what your eyes tell you. The red flags that protected fraud victims for thirty years are gone.

• 40 to 50 Percent of Crime, 1 Percent of Resource. In the UK, fraud is 40-50% of all recorded crime. Police resource dedicated to it: 1%. In one US state, ten officers handle cybercrime — none as their primary job. No country is giving fraud the attention it deserves. This is a political choice.

• You Didn’t Lose Your Money. It Was Taken. “Fell for a scam” implies the victim’s fault. “Lost their money” implies carelessness. Both are wrong. Money is taken by a deliberate criminal act. Changing the language changes the policy. It is not symbolic. It is strategic.

• Fraud Awareness on Every Curriculum. Every person will encounter fraud. It should be taught like road safety — age-appropriate, starting when children first go online. The next generation of fraudsters is already on the gaming headsets.

About the Guest

Becky Holmes is the creator of @deathtospinach, a fraud prevention speaker, and the author of The Future of Fraud (Melville House, April 2026) and Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You.

References

The Future of Fraud by Becky Holmes (Melville House, April 2026): mhpbooks.com/books/the-future-of-fraud
Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You by Becky Holmes (Unbound, 2024)

About Keen On America

Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen.

Website: https://keenon.tv/ Substack: https://keenon.substack.com/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@KeenOnShow

Chapters:

00:00:31 Introduction: Was Shakespeare a fraud?
00:01:35 Everyone has been into fraud at some point in history
00:01:44 What is fraud? A working definition
00:02:41 Anja Shortland and the British women and fraud connection
00:03:16 How Becky got into fraud: handsome soldiers on Twitter during lockdown
00:03:32 @deathtospinach: the origin of the handle
00:04:53 Where does romance fraud end and marketing oneself begin?
00:05:27 Motive is the line: wanting money from a relationship
00:06:09 Fraud for sex and power: a different kind of romance fraud
00:06:50 The spinach debate: raw vs. cooked
00:06:45 I will never date you because I love spinach
00:08:33 What is the history of fraud? Where do we begin?
00:10:00 300 BC Greece: the first recorded fraud case
00:15:00 The anatomy of fraud: social engineering across the centuries
00:20:00 AI erases all the red flags
00:25:00 The 40-50% statistic: fraud’s share of UK crime
00:30:00 The Ghana caravan story: educating people in a way that makes sense to them
00:35:00 Old school scams are coming back
00:36:42 AI and the arms race: new dangers, new defenses
00:38:24 Education: fraud awareness should be on every curriculum
00:40:39 What should parents tell their children about online fraud?
00:41:49 The moral question: teaching children not to become fraudsters
00:43:37 Regulation: more Sherlock Holmes and Columbo
00:44:15 1% of police resource for 40-5