Documentary: (Dis)Honesty: the truth about lies

This 2014 documentary is now available on Netflix and iTunes. Given the current epidemic of lying and cheating apparent in our society from sports to business, politics, education and beyond, some context on the behavior is illuminating.

“(Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies” is a documentary feature film that explores how and why people lie. The film is anchored in behavioral experiments that measure our propensity to lie – sometimes even unknowingly. On a more personal level, from little white lies to devastating deceits, people share on camera the true stories of lies they’ve told. Experts examine the reasons behind our behavior and the implications of our dishonesty. Behavioral scientist Dan Ariely brings these elements together and guides us in discovering the complicated truths about lies. Here is a direct video link to the trailer.

Speaking of fraud and dishonesty engendered by those in one’s peer group, banking employees have been following their leadership perfectly.  This story is textbook, see Wells Fargo fined $186 million for fraudulently opening client accounts:

For years, Wells Fargo employees secretly issued credit cards without a customer’s consent. They created fake email accounts to sign up customers for online banking services. They set up sham accounts that customers learned about only after they started accumulating fees.

On Thursday, these illegal banking practices cost Wells Fargo $185 million in fines, including a $100 million penalty from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the largest such penalty the agency has issued.

Federal banking regulators said the practices, which date back to 2011, reflected serious flaws in the internal culture and oversight at Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s largest banks. The bank has fired at least 5,300 employees who were involved.

In all, Wells Fargo employees opened roughly 1.5 million bank accounts and applied for 565,000 credit cards that may not have been authorized by customers, the regulators said in a news conference. The bank has 40 million retail customers.

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