Neurodiversity and Fraud Vulnerability: Examining Accessibility Gaps in Protection and Awareness

This paper examines the effectiveness and impacts of fraud protection guidance on the public, focusing on neurodivergent people. It seeks to identify and understand the gap between current protection efforts and the needs of those most at risk of misunderstanding such messages and, consequently, experiencing disproportionate harm through fraud victimhood. Drawing on a survey of 2,023 people conducted in 2025, this research explores differences between neurotypical and neurodivergent respondents in terms of fraud exposure, confidence in fraud detection and the psychological, financial, and health impacts of victimisation. The findings reveal that neurodivergent people are both more confident in their ability to identify fraud and more likely to experience it, suggesting a misalignment between self-perceived and actual protective capacity. These people also report more severe emotional, financial and health consequences following fraud victimisation. The paper concludes with evidence-based recommendations for improving the design and delivery of public-facing fraud protection information to ensure inclusivity, accessibility and accuracy, and to reduce barriers to understanding and reporting.