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Masquerading the Government: Drivers of Government Impersonation Fraud

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  • Rajeev K. Goel

Abstract

This article uniquely examines the drivers of government impersonation across US states. Government impersonation is a relatively new white-collar crime that is slowly being recognized by policy makers and largely ignored by researchers. Results show that it is the decentralized government structure, rather than government size, that significantly affects government impersonation. Greater diffusion of the Internet and economic freedom also contribute to impersonation fraud, while urbanization has a mitigating effect. The share of elderly residents, democratic governorships, or the distance of a state from the nation’s capital did not appreciably impact government impersonation but impacted overall fraud. Interestingly, greater enforcement employment results in more fraud coming to light. Some of the factors impacting government impersonation fraud differ from those affecting overall fraud. Therefore, blanket policies to combat overall fraud would not necessarily be effective in checking government impersonation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajeev K. Goel, 2021. "Masquerading the Government: Drivers of Government Impersonation Fraud," Public Finance Review, , vol. 49(4), pages 548-572, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:49:y:2021:i:4:p:548-572
    DOI: 10.1177/10911421211029305
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    6. Rajeev K. Goel, 2021. "Unkind roll of the dice: drivers of lottery crimes in the United States," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(16), pages 1856-1866, April.
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    8. Turnbull, Geoffrey K & Djoundourian, Salpie S, 1993. "Overlapping Jurisdictions: Substitutes or Complements?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 75(3), pages 231-245, March.
    9. Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2016. "Virtual Versus Physical Government Decentralization: Effects on Corruption and the Shadow Economy," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 68-93, December.
    10. Rajeev K. Goel, 2020. "Uncharitable Acts in Charity: Socioeconomic Drivers of Charity‐Related Fraud," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1397-1412, July.
    11. Rajeev K. Goel, 2019. "Identity theft in the internet age: Evidence from the U.S. states," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(2), pages 169-175, March.
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    1. Rajeev K. Goel & James R. Jones, 2022. "Managing the risk of COVID‐19 via vaccine passports: Modeling economic and policy implications," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2578-2586, September.
    2. C. A. Robb & S. Wendel, 2023. "Who Can You Trust? Assessing Vulnerability to Digital Imposter Scams," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 27-51, March.
    3. Goel, Rajeev K. & Mazhar, Ummad, 2024. "Cryptocurrency use and tax collections: Direct and indirect channels of influence," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

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