Fraud Hexagon in the COVID-19 Environment: An Analytical Examination of Causes, Mechanisms, and Impacts: A Review

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented conditions that intensified and diversified fraudulent activities across global systems. Economic disruption, institutional strain, rapid digital transformation, and heightened public uncertainty collectively expanded opportunities for deception and exploitation. This paper examines fraud in the pandemic environment through the lenses of the Fraud Triangle and Fraud Hexagon, highlighting how pressure, opportunity, rationalization, capability, collusion, and arrogance converged to fuel misconduct. Key manifestations included health and medical fraud, government relief and subsidy abuse, cyber scams, investment schemes, insurance fraud, and corporate reporting manipulation. The analysis underscores how crisis governance—marked by rapid relief distribution, fragmented data systems, limited oversight, and digital inequality—created systemic vulnerabilities. Findings reveal that pandemic-driven fraud eroded public trust, entrenched cybercrime infrastructures, and imposed lasting regulatory burdens. The study concludes that future crisis responses must balance speed with resilience, integrating digital identity systems, real-time analytics, and adaptive fraud-prevention strategies to safeguard institutions and societies against exploitation in times of emergency.