For Family & Friends – Article Catalog

Helping Family & Friends of ScamScam A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime -  is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. Victims

The basics of relationship scamsRelationship Scam A Relationship Scam is a one-to-one criminal act that involves a trust relationship and uses deception & manipulation to get a victim to give to the criminal something of value, such as money! Click here to learn more: What Is A Relationship Scam?, what to look for, and how to help!

A SCARSSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS. Topic Collection

Information For The Friends & Family Of New Scam Victims

Before and after the scam, the victim is going to be under strong manipulation and going to be confused, in denialDenial Denial is a refusal or unwillingness to accept something or to accept reality. Refusal to admit the truth or reality of something, refusal to acknowledge something unpleasant; And as a term of Psychology: denial is a defense mechanism in which confrontation with a personal problem or with reality is avoided by denying the existence of the problem or reality., maybe angry, certainly traumatized, and you need to know what you can do to help!

There is a lot to know so that you can help them stop the scam and how to recover after the fact. In this Article Catalog we provide the information that friends and family need, but this information is not for the victim. See below.

Here are article catalogs that the victim should read and study:

• For New Victims – The Information They Need Now!
• The Psychology of Scams
• Recovering from Scams
• Scam Victim Finance & Money Recovery

Understanding ScamsScams A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime -  is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. & Victims

Understanding & Before It Ends

• What Is A Relationship Scam?
• Understanding Romance Scams For Family & Friends
• How To Detect Scams In Someone You Know – A Guide For Family & Friends
• What Does It Mean To Be A Scammer?
• How To Talk With Someone Suffering From Trauma

Confronting Victims & Getting Help

Ending The Scam & Support

• Intervention Guide For Victims In Denial
• Confrontation Guide
• Protecting Elderly Victims In Denial Over Scams
• Coping with the Reality of Crime Victimization

SCARS Resources For All Victims:

This website is the SCARS encyclopedia about scams & scammers, but we publish more information useful to scam victims.

• KNOWLEDGE
  • LEARN ABOUT SCAMS: www.RomanceScamsNOW.com
  • EN ESPAÑOL: www.ContraEstafas.org
  • SEE SCAMMERScammer A Scammer or Fraudster is someone that engages in deception to obtain money or achieve another objective. They are criminals that attempt to deceive a victim into sending more or performing some other activity that benefits the scammer. PHOTOS: www.ScamsOnline.org
• HEAL & RECOVER, SUPPORT
  • HEAL WITH OTHER SCAM VICTIMS ON FACEBOOK:
    facebook.com/groups/
    SCARS.Avoidance.Information.Public.Group
• REPORT ALL SCAMS: www.Anyscam.com
• JOIN SCARS: www.AgainstScams.org
• HELP US HELP OTHERS: donate.AgainstScams.org

We have translation for your language on all of our SCARS Websites

Why Do We Separate Information?

We help victims in different stages of recovery, and not all information is suitable for victims. This collection of articles is for the family and friends of scam victims. We separate it so that you can find the information you are looking for easily.

Victims Need Your Help!

Only about 1/3 of scam victims will effectively recover from their experience. 2/3 are lost to angerAnger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, trigger, hurt or threat. About one-third of scam victims become trapped in anger for extended periods of time following a scam. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Some view anger as an emotion that triggers a part of the fight or flight response. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively, and physiologically. Anger can have many physical and mental consequences. While most of those who experience anger explain its arousal as a result of "what has happened to them", psychologists point out that an angry person can very well be mistaken because anger causes a loss in self-monitoring capacity and objective observability. and rageRage Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, trigger, hurt or threat. About one-third of scam victims become trapped in anger for extended periods of time following a scam. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Some view anger as an emotion that triggers a part of the fight or flight response. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviorally, cognitively, and physiologically. Anger can have many physical and mental consequences. While most of those who experience anger explain its arousal as a result of "what has happened to them", psychologists point out that an angry person can very well be mistaken because anger causes a loss in self-monitoring capacity and objective observability. (including vigilantism), or some form of denialDenial Denial is a refusal or unwillingness to accept something or to accept reality. Refusal to admit the truth or reality of something, refusal to acknowledge something unpleasant; And as a term of Psychology: denial is a defense mechanism in which confrontation with a personal problem or with reality is avoided by denying the existence of the problem or reality. or mental illnessMental Illness Mental illness, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behavior. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviors.. If you tell them you understand, do not judge or blameBlame Blame or Blaming is the act of censuring, holding responsible, making negative statements about an individual or group that their action or actions are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible for doing something wrong, their action is blameworthy. By contrast, when someone is morally responsible for doing something right, we may say that his or her action is praiseworthy. Blame imparts responsibility for an action or act, as in that they made a choice to perform that act or action. them, and get them talking they are much more likely to recover from this experience.

It is ok for you to ask for help too! There is no shameShame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion typically associated with a negative evaluation of the self; withdrawal motivations; and feelings of distress, exposure, mistrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. in asking for and accepting help!

In addition to our qualified support groupsSupport Groups In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic, such as romance scams. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the public or engage in advocacy. They can be supervised or not. SCARS support groups are moderated by the SCARS Team and or volunteers., we recommend that all victims go to a local traumaTrauma Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. Psychological trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away. It can also leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people. Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety or other emotional shocks, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective circumstances that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized. Trauma requires treatment, either through counseling or therapy or through trauma-oriented support programs, such as those offered by SCARS. counselor or therapist.

If you are looking for local trauma counselors please visit www.PsychologyToday.com/us/therapists/trauma-and-ptsd (U.S. & International)