In this talk, the speaker will share how they stumbled into this work by accident and what it’s like to operate as a scientific sleuth within academia. The bulk of the presentation will focus on real-world cases of research fraud and misconduct, spanning fields from neurodegenerative diseases to chemistry, physics, and materials science. The talk will, through these examples, explore: the techniques and tools used to detect irregularities; how issues are reported to journals and publishers; the distinction between honest mistakes and deliberate manipulation; the collateral damage caused by misconduct, including its impact on public trust in science. The final section will examine the social and economic drivers of research fraud - and outline the systemic changes needed, globally, to break this cycle and restore integrity in science.