After The 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. Comes Disaster – 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. Guide

The Hard Times That Come After A Scam

For scam victims understanding what to expect helps take away some of the anxiety that being a victim brings.

AFTER THE SCAM COMES THE DIFFICULTY

You all know what you felt after you discovered your scam. Heartache, despair, 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. and 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., depression. The whole range of traumatic emotions that follow something like this. But few foresee the long-term consequences to their lives from giving away the amounts of money that some do.

Some victims give away huge sums of money, from thousands to over a million. In our website and social media pages, you will find articles that explain why it happened and the psychological impact of it, but there are also – in some cases severe – financial and lifestyle consequences as well.

We know that 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. are both an emotional dependency that results in grief after it ends, as well as an addiction that results in withdrawal after it is over. There have been massive amounts written about the impact on people’s lives when they experience these things. But couple the grief, the withdrawal, with the large financial losses together and for many, it is a recipe for personal disaster.

Those That Get Off Easy

For some, the amounts they sent to scammers were relatively small from hundreds to a few thousand. They can absorb the loss with only the psychological damage. These are the ones that get off easy, though it may not feel that way to them. They will, however, recover financially relatively quickly.

Those That Scrape By

For some, the amount of money was serious. It threatened their future and maybe even stole it. But they still have employment or the ability to survive with the income they still have. Some will have to file bankruptcy to solve their financial crisis. Of perhaps family and friends chip in to help them get through. It may have been a close call, but they survived. Though they may never recover from the financial loss, they can at least keep going.

Those That Fail

The saddest are those that gave away everything and have neither the means to stay afloat or the circle of friends that can help. We have seen countless examples of victims who have lost everything, including homes and cars, and even the ability to put food on the table. Many have literally become homeless. These are the fallen, that have been so hard hit by their loss of money and the emotional impact that there is no coming back.

The worst part of this is that it is not always immediate. For some, it can take years of spiraling down before they hit bottom, and usually by that time they have no resources left. They exhausted everything possible but it was never enough to put them back on track. This usually has more to do with the traumaTrauma

After The Scam Comes Disaster