Has Financial Fraud Become a Major Driver of Homelessness with Scam Victims?
♦ A SCARS Commentary by Dr. Tim McGuinness
We all know that addiction, job loss, and mental health issues ranked as the top three responses from experts on homelessness up to 2019. However, something new is being seen across the world, but especially in the United States.
That is Scam Victim Homelessness!
The average losses from cyber-enabled financial fraud are increasing to staggering proportions. It is now estimated that the average loss per victim is nearing $100,000 – in 2019 this was estimated to be $9,000 to $14,000 depending on whom you talked to (the FBI or the FTC.)
Our organization SCARS is now talking with one or more people a day who say they have lost everything, including their homes, and are facing homelessness.
Local police are not doing enough (or in many cases, anything) to help connect these victims with social services that can help them. This is just one of the things that drive Scam Victim Homelessness!
But what makes it worse is the apparent fact that well below 5% of these crimes are never reported to law enforcement (the SCARS Analytics estimate is only 1.2%.) this means they don’t qualify for many services because they are not technically a victim of a crime, since it was never reported.
We talk with people who have nowhere to turn. Unfortunately, our own organization (www.AgainstScams.org) is not able to offer financial assistance – we simply do not have the donors to help victims financially.
Transnational organized cyber-enabled crimes are destroying millions of lives a year. The people making a difference can only help a fraction of those in need, This is a crime wave like nothing the world has EVER SEEN! It affects EVERY resident of every country – directly or indirectly.
Yet as a society, we generally pretend it is not a big deal! It will never happen to me, and if it did I would get my money back. WRONG.
Most victims turn to their local police and walk away with no help. They are either not aware, or are too ashamed to ask their local social services for help. This is a crisis of victims’ legal rights and their human rights!
SCARS would like to form a working group to help explore how we can all do a better job in helping victims on the local level. If you are interested in joining with us on this, please let us know by email at contact@AgainstScams.org. Our goal is to identify resources worldwide that can help avoid Scam Victim Homelessness.
Victims Deserve Better!
Are You Homeless Or At Risk Of Scam Victim Homelessness?
There are many resources that can help when you are facing homelessness, but they can also help any scam victim in need of financial help.
These resources are all for the United States, but similar services are available in many countries. Please check to see what is available in your country!
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More SCARS
- ScamsNOW Magazine – ScamsNOW.com
- ContraEstafas.org
- ScammerPhotos.com
- AnyScam.com – reporting
- AgainstScams.org – SCARS Corporate Website
- SCARS YouTube Video Channel
Homelessness has reached epidemic levels overwhelming the system’s capability to properly respond to the needs. The huge assumption is a homeless person must have a phone, computer/tablet, a printer, internet connection and transportation (everything is now online). If a homeless person has access to all of this, they wouldn’t find themselves homeless in the first place. It’s a catch-22.