PRESS RELEASE: Triviala
Written: Wednesday 17th June, 2009
LET IT LIE
NEWS COPY
It's official - Britain is a nation of cheats, a study revealed yesterday (Tues).
Seven out of ten of us have cheated in some form during our lives whether it be on friends, partners or by fiddling expenses or not declaring earnings.
The report found four out of ten have cheated on at least one long term partner during their adult lifetime and more than one in ten have betrayed a pal by kissing or sleeping with their other half.
Almost one in five have cheated on their CV and more than half of Brits have cheated at board games.
And six out of ten games regularly source codes and 'walk-throughs' to get further in computer games.
The stats emerged in a study carried out by www.triviala.com who polled 6,724 people.
A spokesman for www.triviala.com said: ''It seems many people cheat to some extent, which makes recent moral outrage over MPs' expenses seem a little hypocritical.
''It's a question of scale. It would seem that a lot of us (regardless who we are) try and get away with what we can.
''While cheating at a game is pretty inconsequential, if there are easy ways to gain without being caught, it seems that a lot of people, maybe most of us, will try to do it.''
The report also found a fifth of people regularly take a leaf out of MP's books by fiddling their expenses.
And one in ten have 'forgotten' to declare earnings to the taxman at some point.
Half of us have cheated in a boardgame in the past and one in four cheated in an exam in our youth.
The poll also revealed a list of 'celebrities cheats'.
Sir Fred Goodwin, the former Chief Executive of RBS, has been named as the biggest cheat for claiming #700,000 pension award just one month before the company reported a loss of #24.1billion.
Robert Maxwell was second biggest for siphoning off staff pensions and Darren Day was third for cheating on a string of girlfriends including Tracy Shaw, Suzanne Shaw and Anna Friel.
Chancellor Alistair Darling was fourth for claiming for two homes on his expenses, and athlete Marion Jones was fifth for winning five Olympic gold medals after taking performance enhancing drugs.
TOP 10 'CHEATS'
1. Cheating on computer games - 60 per cent
2. Cheating on board games - 51 per cent
3. Cheated on a partner - 34 per cent
4. Cheating during poker / card games - 27 per cent
5. Cheated in exams - 20 per cent
6. Fiddled expenses - 20 per cent
7. Done children's homework - 20 per cent
8. Cheated or lied on a CV - 18 per cent
9. 'Forgotten' to declare earnings on tax - 10 per cent
10. Cheated in a job interview - 9 per cent
TOP 10 CELEBRITY CHEATS
1. Sir Fred Goodwin - The Chief Executive of RBS claimed a £700,000 pension award a month before the company reported a loss of £24.1billion
2. Robert Maxwell - took everyone's pensions and then went missing
3. Darren Day - for cheating on girlfriend after girlfriend
4. Alistair Darling - claimed for two homes on his expenses
5. Marion Jones - for winning five Olympic gold medals after taking performance enhancing drugs
6. Jeffrey Archer - for perverting the course of justice and imprisonment
7. Bill Clinton - for the sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky
8. Fred Bowers - for claiming disability benefit after dancing on Britain's Got Talent
9. Jackie Smith - for allowing her husband to claim on her expenses for porn
10. Amy Winehouse - for failing to perform at numerous gigs after fans paid thousands to see her
ENDS
Research conducted by global market research company www.onepoll.com
