Last Updated on by SCARS Editorial Team
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.
They have been violated and abused, and now they need help.
We get it. We know – because our team have been victims too.
We do our best to help every victim that comes to us.
We help those that are in shock.
We help those that are in pain.
We help those that are afraid.
But we can’t help those that are in a 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..
Supporting a victim is about compassion and understanding, it is also about communication and guidance.
Unfortunately angry victims will not accept information and guidance. It makes it very difficult to help them.
Why are we posting this?
Because we hope that every victim will recognize their level of 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 if they are enraged and in hate, then they can please dial it down so we can help them.
They may not like the situation they are in, but we did not create that situation.
They may not want the result that they are going to get, but after 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. there are only a few options.
They may feel entitled to everything from getting their money back to getting the 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. investigated and arrested. But it just doesn’t happen that way most of the time.
We are professionals at what we do (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./RSN Staff, our Volunteers, and SCARS Members), and we know how to support online crime victims.
But recognize that for the victim this is their first time being a scam victim – by definition that means they are amateurs at it.
Lots of people will try to leverage their anger, such as the scammer hate groups galore, but that is not what they need.
They need to understand that they can be helped with information, guidance, and support. But that is about the limit of anyone, including the FBIFBI FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and reports to both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence. A leading U.S. counter-terrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative organization, the FBI has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes, including financial fraud. or local police.
The money is not coming back (in almost all cases).
The scammer is not going to be immediately arrested.
But victims still have responsibilities and obligations to themselves and to the people that are helping them – be it our team or other victims who have been through the same crisis and come out the other end. Respect and courtesy being the biggest essential of those.
Reporting scammers is a part of this. Just think about how much effort each victim put into the fake romance? Reporting only takes a few minutes – certainly no big deal – and it can lead to future arrests, or more importantly helping others learn from victims’ mistakes.
If they don’t want our help and want to go it on their own, we respect that, but please do not leave smoking ruins in their path. The people that are trying to help you deserve better than that.
We know this is hard, but with help it can be made better. With anger it can only be worse because the support people will walk away and you will be completely on your own to face it alone.
Chose wisely. Chose respect, and let us help you.
RSN/SCARS