Participants in the study were asked to work together on a dice-rolling game to win money. The first participant rolled a die, and then reported the number to his or her partner. If the partner rolled the same number, they both got a pay out.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the teams often put their heads together to lie to collect these winnings – the instances of winning double rolls were almost 500% higher than what would be expected if it were assumed the participants were being honest. The research found that the highest levels of corruption in a team occurred when the profits were shared equally and when there were strong bonds in a group.

The study’s authors, Ori Weiseland Shaul Shalvi, concluded that the corruption and immoral conduct at the roots of recent financial scandals “are possibly driven not only by greed, but also by cooperative tendencies and aligned incentives.”

How cheating is changing

The ways people cheat are changing, and this is a significant problem in the world of finance, high levels of company management and politics, according to fraud analysts. Thanks to technology, there are ever-evolving ways for workers and students to cheat.