Investment fraud – determinants of operation and scale of occurrence

<ns3:p>The aim of this article is to indicate the economic, behavioral and legal determinants of the creation of financial pyramids and Ponzi schemes, their characteristic features and the effects of their occurrence in market practice. Based on the results of research conducted by the Public Opinion Research Center (CBOS), the perspective of society's perception of investment fraud was presented. The article also cites examples of data visualization manipulation that may occur in the sales process and investment fraud statistics (estimated amount of consumer losses and number of victims).</ns3:p>