West Midlands, United Kingdom May 28, 2026 (Issuewire.com) - How do you tell your mum you are worried about her, without making her feel small? How do you tell your dad something does not feel right, without making him feel judged?
Those difficult family conversations sit at the heart of Scams Unmasked: Inside Modern Fraud: Stories of Trust, Loss & Control, the new book by Coventry-based writer and filmmaker Ashford Menezes, released today in paperback and Kindle editions.
Modern scams rarely begin with obvious danger. They often begin with something ordinary: a message, a phone call, a relationship, an opportunity, or a moment of pressure that feels believable at the time. Scams Unmasked uses seven fictionalised, story-led chapters to explore how fraudsters use trust, urgency, hope, fear and emotional control to keep people engaged, even when something begins to feel wrong.
“You don’t fall for scams because you’re careless,” says Menezes. “You fall for them because you’re human. That is the uncomfortable truth behind so much modern fraud.”
The book arrives as fraud continues to affect millions of people across the UK. UK Finance reported that criminals stole £629.3 million in the first half of 2025, with more than 2.09 million confirmed cases of fraud during that period. Meanwhile, research from the Money and Pensions Service found that one in three UK adults would feel uncomfortable telling their friends they had been scammed, highlighting the silence and embarrassment that often follow fraud.
For Menezes, that silence is one of the reasons the book needed to be written.
“Most scam advice tells people what to look for,” he says. “But after someone has been deceived, the sentence that often follows is, ‘I should have known.’ That sentence is the second loss. It keeps people quiet. It makes families afraid to speak. And silence is exactly what allows fraud to keep working.”
Rather than presenting fraud awareness as a traditional how-to guide, Scams Unmasked uses story to make the subject easier to approach. The book is written for two readers: the person who may already have been deceived and feels unable to talk about it, and the family member who is quietly worried about someone they love.
“There is a conversation many families want to have, especially with parents or older relatives, but they do not always know how to begin it,” says Menezes. “The seven stories are designed to become that conversation. Not a lecture. Just stories people can read together.”
The book covers common patterns seen in modern fraud, including impersonation scams, romance fraud, fake lottery wins, online manipulation and financial deception. Each character is fictional, but the emotional pattern is familiar: trust is built, doubt is managed, pressure increases, and shame often follows.
Scams Unmasked is especially relevant for families, community groups, churches, charities, libraries, schools and organisations looking for a more human way to discuss fraud awareness.
About the Book
Scams Unmasked: Inside Modern Fraud: Stories of Trust, Loss & Control is a story-led fraud awareness book told through seven fictionalised chapters inspired by common scam tactics affecting people today. It explores the emotional and psychological mechanics of modern fraud, showing how scams often succeed not because victims are careless, but because fraudsters understand human trust, fear, hope and vulnerability.
About the Author
Ashford Menezes is a Coventry-based filmmaker and writer with a background in financial services. His work draws together storytelling, lived experience and a long-standing interest in how people make decisions under pressure. Scams Unmasked is his first published book.
Availability
Title: Scams Unmasked: Inside Modern Fraud: Stories of Trust, Loss & Control
Author: Ashford Menezes
Publication Date: 24 May 2026
Format: Paperback and eBook
Publisher: Bezalel Impressions
Available at: Amazon and select stores
Book link: https://mybook.to/ScamsUnmaskedEB
Media Contact
Quinita Colaco *****@ashterwayne.com http://www.ashfordmenezes.com
