Fraud of Honor

People fall victims to praise. This weakness is exploited by professional cheats. Here are some examples.
A government wanted to increase agricultural production. It instituted awards and titles for farmers who produced highest yields from their farms. The unit of measurement was hectare. The administrative authority to determine the yield and recommend the award was the District Chief. The farmers submitted claims. But one farmer who never had cultivated was given the award. On verification it was found that he had bribed the officials to get a high rank for his field. The title Farm King went to him.

Another case related to publishers who hunted for innocent persons falling victims to praise and attempted to tickle their vanity. One publisher announced publication of a Directory giving details of famous persons. He sought details from many persons and there was no entry fee for enlistment. He published the Directory and priced it high. Each entry holder was asked to buy one copy which was highly priced. This was the technique used to boost up circulation and profits. The page concerning the member who paid lavishly contained glorious tributes about his career and performance whereas he had earned the degrees and certificates on payment. It was in fact a game of cash for certificates.

When these incidents were reported to a third person he remarked. "It is strange indeed that such titles are given. We have heard about Guard of Honor. Now we have Fraud of Honor. The titles deserve to be renamed thus and given wide publicity.