A new study suggests that is easier to lie in a text message than it is face to face.

A researcher at Wichita State University, David Xu, is the lead author of the study that will appear in the March edition of the Journal of Business Ethics.

Xu’s paper compares the levels of deceit people use in a variety of media, from text messages to face-to-face interactions.

For the study, 170 students from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia were promised cash awards of up to $50 for performing mock stock transactions.

Students designated as “buyers” were given inside knowledge that the stock was rigged to lose half of its value. Buyers who received information via texts were the most likely to report getting deceptive messages. People using video were the least likely to deceive.

The fact that people were less likely to lie via video than in person was surprising, Xu said, but makes sense given the so-called “spotlight” effect, where a person feels they’re being watched more closely on video than face-to-face.

Xu said this kind of research has implications for consumers to avoid problems such as online fraud, and for businesses looking to promote trust and build a good image, Xu said.