Very little research has been undertaken when it comes to people making false allegations that they have or are victims of a crime outside of Munchausen Syndrome, which touches on it, but only in the context of garnering attention by faking illness and anecdotal references to false allegations of sexual abuse etc. There is however, within ICD and DSM collective references and research into this type of behaviour under various diagnostic criteria for severe personality disorders and psychiatric illnesses.

• In the wake of the social media explosion, the allegations of being a victim of something has become increasingly more common, with report after report being made to law enforcement agencies that the ‘victim’ is being further abused online. It is a very public and extreme form of attention seeking. There are no circumstances I can think of, in the real world, in which anyone could stand on a crowded street…