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. Publishes New Self-Help Recovery Guide

SCARS Re-Launches The SCARS Steps Program In Book Form

From SCARS Publishing

SCARS Is Very Proud To Launch Its Latest Publication: The SCARS GREEN BOOK!

Our New Self-Help SCARS Steps Recovery Guide

SCARS Re-launches the SCARS Steps Program in book form to provide easier access and more flexible availability of this important program!

It is a 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. recovery guide for scam victims that helps you recover from your scam.

The GREEN BOOK

This publication is to help Scam Victims recover from their scam experience – A self-help self-paced 8 step recovery program from 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. & online fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim.

This was created by SCARS Authors: Tim McGuinness Ph.D., Debby Montgomery Johnson, Vianey Gonzalez, Chris Fromal, Sharon Armstrong, Vismaya Rubin, Lydia Zagorova

Visit the SCARS Store to get your copy today!

Designed For Scam Victims!

This program is designed to help scam victims struggling to recover on their own and for those who want to understand the overall process. You can be using other resources, such as 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. counselingCounseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor, is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with addiction and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; and aging. They may also work with "Social Workers", "Psychiatrists", and "Psychologists". SCARS does not provide mental health counseling. or therapy, 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., or completely independent – on your own!

The SCARS Steps program is a complete program and is provided for the purpose of helping scam victims to overcome this experience.

NOTE: When working with outside support providers (such as trauma counselors,) some aspects may not be as needed but still useful, but when you are facing recovery on your own – which we know that many scam victims will do – it is essential to have a complete program that you can follow, even if you do not perform everything contained in it.

You are encouraged to use this SCARS Program completely.

We Suggest That You:

• Follow the SCARS Steps Program step by step, but take your time. There is no hurry. Each step will happen when you are ready.
• Make sure that you do perform each Step – do not skip steps.
• We recommend that you also join a qualified support groupSupport Group 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. and regularly participate!

This program was designed by the staff of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. [SCARS] – the world’s leading crime victims’ assistance provider – focused on scam victims in concert with a leading university based upon our nearly 30 years of experience, as a self-help program to assist in the recovery process for those that do not have other means or resources available to them for their scam recovery, or for those that are not ready to take the first step to seek trauma counseling or therapy.

After the trauma of being scammed, you need to take steps to recover and move on. This may be an alternative to counseling in the short term, but we still encourage you to seek out professional help & support.

Your Own Psychology

Throughout this SCARS Steps Program, we speak about issues, challenges, defects, or problems that a victim may have in a generalized way.

Each person is different and it is important to understand your own reasons for being vulnerable to being scammed, how you were lured in, then groomed and manipulated, and then finally your reactions once it ended. (You can learn more about that here.)

SCARS provides a large library of educational articles on all the topics of recovery from scams and the psychology of scamsPsychology Of Scams Psychology Of Scams is the study of the psychological or emotional effects of scams or financial fraud on victims of these crimes. It helps victims to better understand the impact of scams on them personally or on others. To find the SCARS articles on the Psychology of Scams, use the search option to enter the term and find them. (here on RomanceScamsNOW.com) to help victims better understand these concepts.

THIS GUIDE HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO HELP YOU IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF A SCAM! BUT YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP AND BEGIN THE STEPS TO GET THERE!

Sections (The Steps):

• Step 1 Acceptance
• Step 2 Your Actions
• Step 3 Talk About It
• Step 4 Work On Yourself
• Step 5 Harm To Others
• Step 6 Repair The Harm
• Step 7 Admit Your Mistakes
• Step 8 Moving Forward

Visit the SCARS Store to get your copy today!