SCARS™ Subject Focus: The Psychology Of Romance Scams
Romance Scams Are Infinitely Complex And Leave Victims With Significant Trauma
Attention is like a spotlight, which means when it’s pointing in one direction it pretty much ignores everything else. This is how a Romance Scam starts!
Except people don’t realize how little information coming in from the outside world we actually process. Naturally, you don’t notice what you don’t notice, plus the mind is designed to fill in the gaps for us. But fraudsters do know and almost every con uses some kind of distraction – a kind of social engineering to get you to do what the scammer wants you to do.
Scammers know all about social compliance and happily exploit our automatic deference to authority figures such as soldiers. People will hand over credit cards to people they think are waiters, car keys to people they think are car park attendants and give access to their house to people they think are from the water board. The best known online example is a ‘phishing attack’ where people give fraudsters their bank details in response to an email that purports to be from their bank.
These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to social engineering scams. To truly learn how victims are manipulated and all of the mechanisms involved, we invite you to read our SCARS Library (below) on the subject of the Psychology of Romance Scams!
SCARS™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.
Reported Scammer Email Addresses – 2018 Part 2
Reported Scammer Email Addresses - 2018 Part 2 Scammer Email Addresses That Have Been Reported To Be Used By Scammers SCARS RomanceScamsNOW.com Archives The following scammer email addresses have been reported by scam victims as being used by scammers through the SCARS|CDN™ Cybercrime Data Network. This information was submitted [...]
REPORTING INCOME TAX FRAUD
REPORTING INCOME TAX FRAUD A new way to report tax identity theft identity theft is hard enough. That’s why we keep working to make recovering from it easier. It’s also why we’re happy to let you know about an innovative project by the FTC and IRS that lets people report [...]
Police Investigation – How Do They Decide What Is Worth It?
Police Investigation How Do They Decide What Is Worth It? Law Enforcement - A SCARS Insight How Police Decide What Is Worth Investigating? The Challenge Police Face With Scams: As any scam victim knows, the local police (or even national police) can be very reluctant [...]
Introduction To Sextortion Scams
Introduction To Sextortion Scams Sextortion employs non-physical forms of coercion to extort sexual favors from the victim or uses intimate photos or videos to extort money from the victims! It is a form of blackmail and is a crime worldwide Author: • Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. [...]
Letting Go & Doing Something About It
You Need To Let Go A touch of "tough love" from Romance Scams Now A victim recently corresponded with us about how he was scammed over a 6 month period by a Ghana scammer known as "GIFTY." If you have read our website, you would know that anyone in Ghana [...]
Steve Bustin – A Scammer’s Favorite
You Know This Guy! Steve Bustin Public Speaker Impersonation Victim You Have Seen His Photos Before! Steve Bustin Is Another Scammers Choice Award Winner Of course, you don't really know Steve Bustin, since these are stolen photos used by African Scammers, but he is popular! If you see his [...]
RSN EDITORIAL “The Lion”
RSN EDITORIAL "The Lion" Everyone believes they will live forever. Everyone believes crime will never happen to them. No one expects to be the victim of a romance scam! Did you? We live in a world that has been the same since the beginning of time. There are lions out there [...]
The Keys to Motivating Yourself After a SCAM!
The Keys to Motivating Yourself After a SCAM! Recognize that you were scammed. Admit it. Say it out loud! You were scammed! Don’t be ashamed. Accept that you were manipulated. They used you against yourself. They got the better of you! You gave them your money. You sent it to [...]
SCARS™ Scammer Gallery: More Female Fakes Scammers #74808
SCARS™ Scammer Gallery: More Female Fakes Scammers #74808 We present a selection of Fake Female Scammers Remember these photos were stolen from real people! Recognize Any Of These Girls? Tell us about your experiences with Romance Scammers in our Scams Discussion Forum on Facebook » FAQ: How Do You Properly Report [...]
What Do Victims Believe? #3
What Do Victims Believe? When Asked If They Believe That The United Nations Should Have The Right To Investigate International Scams & Arrest Online Criminals In Countries Around The World? 7% said No! 93% said Yes! The Only Problem Is That The UN Has No Police Force! There Is No [...]
SCARS Insight: Why Do You Think You Were Scammed?
SCARS™ Insight: Why Do You Think You Were Scammed? Are You Still Doing The Same High-Risk Things That Got You Scammed? You Wanted To Believe You Did Not See What Was There You Made False Assumptions You Did Not Question Anything PROBLEM IS THAT MOST VICTIMS ARE STILL DOING THAT! [...]
What Do Victims Believe? #2
What Do Victims Believe? When Asked If They Believe They Were Scammed By An Individual Or A Team? 55% understood that they were scammed by a team of scammers. 45% believe they were scammed by an individual scammer. Yet Data Shows That Scammers Work In Teams Over 80% Of The [...]
What Do Victims Believe? #1
What Do Victims Believe? When Asked If They Believe They Were Scammed By The Actual Person In The Photo? 88% understood they were scammed by a Fake Identity, that the photo was stolen and used by scammers. 12% did not understand this. This Matters Because It Shows That 12% Do [...]
RadioRSN Interview with Debby Montgomery
RadioRSN Audio Interview with Debby Montgomery An interview with Debby Montgomery, a Romance Scam survivor conducted by Dr. Tim McGuinness Chairman of the Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams™ [SCARS]™ for RadioRSN™ on March 8th, 2018 Alternate Playback Here: https://soundcloud.com/user-121882415/2018-03-08-1a Permission to link to audio recording - permission not [...]
RSN™ Special Report: The Basic Money Mule Model!
RSN™ Special Report: The Basic Money Mule Model! Scammers scam their victims, but while the scam is ongoing, they convince the victim to do them a favor - receive some money or merchandise for them. It might be for business, from a family member, any story will do. Then send to [...]
SCARS™ Insight: Are Scams Manslaughter or Murder? The SCARS Doctrine
SCARS™ Insight: Are Scams Manslaughter or Murder? The SCARS Doctrine Our data suggest that 10 to 15 people commit suicide every day resulting from Romance Scams! Let us ask you a question? In most developed countries, if someone dies during a crime it is murder or at least manslaughter! “A [...]
WHY ARE YOU HERE? [OBSOLETED]
Sorry, This Page Was Deleted Sometimes we obsolete old content that is not relevant or needed We do our best to keep our site up-to-date and accurate Please visit our RomanceScamsNOW.com home page for our latest and access to more information, also visit ScamsNOW.com our news & features magazine [...]
Little Black Book of Scams
Little Black Book of Scams The Canadian Edition: THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF SCAMS First published by the Competition Bureau Canada 2012 Reproduced with permission from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission YOUR GUIDE TO PROTECTION AGAINST FRAUD CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OR VIEW » From The Guide: MYTH BUSTERS: Busting [...]
How Do Scammer Organizations Work? Nigerian & West African Scammers [UPDATED]
How Do Scammer Organizations Work? How Scams Work - A Series A SCARS Insight - Updated July 2022 How Do Scammer Organizations Really Work? Scammers are organized criminal groups that have team sizes from as few as 8 to as many as 10,000! This is [...]
RSN™ Guide: To Being A Victim
The RSN Guide To Being A Victim This Is One Of Those Things That No One Will Tell You To Your Face! Every day we are contacted by hundreds of victims - sometimes more than a thousand. We deal with people during one of the worst times in their lives. [...]
TAGS: Psychology of Scams, Romance Scams, Social Compliance, Amygdala Hijack, Gaslighting, Stranger Trust, Trauma Bonding, PTSD, Victim Syndrome, Complex, Syndromes, Victimization,
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Tell us about your experiences with Romance Scammers in our Scams Discussion Forum on Facebook »
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FAQ: How Do You Properly Report Scammers?
It is essential that law enforcement knows about scams & scammers, even though there is nothing (in most cases) that they can do.
Always report scams involving money lost or where you received money to:
- Local Police – ask them to take an “informational” police report – say you need it for your insurance
- Your National Police or FBI (www.IC3.gov)
- The SCARS|CDN™ Cybercriminal Data Network – Worldwide Reporting Network HERE or on www.Anyscam.com
This helps your government understand the problem, and allows law enforcement to add scammers on watch lists worldwide.
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Visit our NEW Main SCARS Facebook page for much more information about scams and online crime: www.facebook.com/SCARS.News.And.Information
To learn more about SCARS visit www.AgainstScams.org
Please be sure to report all scammers HERE or on www.Anyscam.com
All original content is Copyright © 1991 – 2020 SCARS All Rights Reserved Worldwide & Webwide – RSN/Romance Scams Now & SCARS/Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams are all trademarks of Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated (formerly the Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams)
Legal Notices:
All original content is Copyright © 1991 – 2020 SCARS All Rights Reserved Worldwide & Webwide. Third-party copyrights acknowledge.
SCARS, RSN, Romance Scams Now, SCARS|GLOBAL, SCARS, Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams, Society of Citizens Against Romance Scams, SCARS|ANYSCAM, Project Anyscam, Anyscam, SCARS|GOFCH, GOFCH, SCARS|CHINA, SCARS|CDN, SCARS Cybercriminal Data Network, Cobalt Alert, Scam Victims Support Group, are all trademarks of Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated.
Contact the law firm for the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated by email at legal@AgainstScams.org
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