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SCARS™ CAUTION: Fake Surveys Of Scam Victims SCARS has long used surveys and polls to help refine our services as well as to inform our crime victims' advocacy actions with government and other global organizations. It is important to fully understand how victims respond to the trauma of scams, and the methods they use in coping. Plus it allows a better understanding of the skills both victims and the public acquires in avoiding future scams. [...]
SCARS™ Commentary: A Thought Before The Darkness Closes In What Is The Key To Survival During A Crisis - Any Type Of Crisis? A Strict Information Diet WE ARE SURROUNDED BY NEGATIVE NEWS WE ARE SURROUNDED BY MEDIA TROLLS AND HATERS INVESTED IN OUR PANIC BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LISTEN TO THEM! Those of you who know us as an organization, know that we try to limit certain kinds of information in what [...]
SCARS™ CORONAVIRUS GOVERNMENT ACTION GUIDE: Serving To Protect The Department of Justice is remaining vigilant in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting wrongdoing related to the crisis. In a memo to U.S. Attorneys, Attorney General Barr said, "The pandemic is dangerous enough without wrongdoers seeking to profit from public panic and this sort of conduct cannot be tolerated." Be aware that criminals are attempting to exploit COVID-19 worldwide through a variety of scams. There have been reports of: [...]
SCARS™ ALERT: Checks From The Government - Scams UPDATED: March 18, 2020 SOURCE: U.S. FTC NOTE: This is a topic that may change at any time. To keep up to date with the latest Coronavirus-related scams go to www.ftc.gov/coronavirus » Reports That The Government Will Soon Be Sending Money By Check Or Direct Deposit As the Wuhan Coronavirus COVID-19 takes a growing toll on people’s pocketbooks, there are reports that the government will soon be [...]
SCARS™ WARNING: Corona Virus / COVID-19 Crisis & Emergency Scams Criminals online are taking advantage of coronavirus anxiety to defraud victims on the internet! MEDICAL SUPPLIES We encourage everyone to exercise caution when buying medical supplies online during the current health crisis, with criminals capitalizing on the situation to run a range of financial scams. With surgical masks and other medical supplies in high demand yet difficult to find in retail stores as a result [...]
SCARS™ Insight: Avoid Coronavirus Scams Here Are Some Tips To Help You Keep The Scammers At Bay: Don’t click on links from sources you don’t know. They could download viruses onto your computer or device. Watch for emails claiming to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or experts saying that have information about the virus. For the most up-to-date information about the Coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World [...]
SCARS™ Guide: Guide to Taxpayer Identity Theft & Scams Tax-Related Identity Theft Occurs When Someone Uses Your Stolen Personal Information, Including Your Social Security Number, To File A Tax Return Claiming A Fraudulent Refund If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft, continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return, even if you must file a paper return. Know the Signs of Taxpayer Identity Theft (Similar For Other Countries Too) You may [...]
Congressional Review: Republican Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (EAPPA) Signed by President Trump Bearing Fruit In Stopping Scams On October 18, 2017, Congress Passed The Elder Abuse Prevention And Prosecution Act (EAPPA) Which Was Signed By President Donal Trump. The goal of the EAPPA is to address financial abuse and exploitation of elders on a national scale. It is estimated that financial exploitation costs seniors in the U.S. more than $2.9 billion annually (based upon government numbers, [...]
Breaking News: Scam Victim Turned Into Money Mule Arrested In West Virginia Huntington Woman Indicted as Part of International Nigerian Fraud Scheme for Laundering Funds This Elderly Scam Victim Being Made An Example By Prosecutors To Deter Others From Becoming Mules As we have reported before, the U.S. Government is beginning to crack down on scam victims that are converted into money mules. This is especially true if they are in such profound denial that [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: Charity Fraud Here’s How Charity Scams Work: Someone contacts you asking for a donation to their charity. It sounds like a group you’ve heard of, it seems real, and you want to help. How can you tell what charity is legitimate and what’s a scam? Scammers want your money quickly. Charity scammers often pressure you to donate right away. They might ask for cash, and might even offer to send a courier [...]
SCARS™ Psychology of Scams: Repeating The Scam - Engaging In Risky Behavior Over & Over During the formative years of contemporary psychiatry, much attention was paid to the continuing role of past traumatic experiences on the current lives of people. Charcot, Janet, and Freud all noted that fragmented memories of traumatic events dominated the mental life of many of their patient and built their theories about the nature and treatment of psychopathology on this recognition. [...]
SCARS™ Insights: Naming & Shaming Scammers! One of our scam victim's support group members asked a very important question: "IS IT POSSIBLE TO NAME AND SHAME THESE CRIMINALS PUBLICLY?" First, We Need To Ask The Question - Why Is This Important? To Victims? To Anyone? A very large percentage of scam victims almost demand to be able to name and shame their scammers. This is almost an instinctual response after their scam ends and they [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: COVID19 Coronavirus Scam Costs U.K. Victims Nearly £1,000,000 In One Month - Not To Mention The Impact Worldwide In the United Kingdom since February 2020, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has identified 21 reports of fraud where Coronavirus was mentioned, with victim losses totaling over £800k. Of the 21 reports, ten were made by victims that attempted to purchase protective face masks from fraudulent sellers. One victim reported losing over £15k when [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: International Lottery Scams “Congratulations! You may receive a certified check for up to $400,000,000 U.S. CASH! One Lump sum! Tax free! Your odds to WIN are 1-6.” “Hundreds of U.S. citizens win every week using our secret system! You can win as much as you want!” Sound Great? It’s A Fraud Scam operators — often based in Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Asia, Europe, or Africa - in other words EVERYWHERE [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: Prize & Sweepstakes Scams You’ve just won $5,000! Or $5 million. Or maybe it’s a fabulous diamond ring, or luxury vacation? More likely, it’s a prize scam, and you’ll find the prize isn’t worth much — if you get a prize at all. Here’s one way to think about it: if you have to pay, it’s not a prize. About Contests and Prizes Who doesn’t want to win something? But before you [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: Work-at-Home Businesses Scams Want to be your own boss? Earn thousands of dollars a month from home? Ads promote many different work-at-home jobs and businesses, but often the message is the same: they promise you’ll earn a great living from home, even in your spare time. Don’t take their word for it — many of these “jobs” are scams, or don’t deliver on the claims they make. So do some research, and [...]
SCARS™ Insight: Cybercrime Is Big Business! A Continuing Series - Part 2 How Does the Business of Cybercrime Work? The organizational features commonly found in the online criminal underground look a lot like traditional business structures, with organizational heads, line managers, and front-line staff. Provided courtesy of the Council on Foreign Relations » By: Jonathan Lusthaus - Director of the Human Cybercriminal Project at the University of Oxford, and the author of Industry of Anonymity: Inside [...]
Article Removed At The Request Of The Author The SafeToNet Foundation (www.SafeToNet.org) sent this document to us via email without restrictions on distribution. It was for that reason we displayed it here. We presented it unaltered and fully acknowledging their copyright. We have since received a demand to remove the guide by the author. Clearly, the author is not interested in the widest possible reach or the audience we serve, and we have removed the [...]
SCAM ALERT: New Scam Targeting Parents New Phone Scam Claims Parents (or Grandparents) are Negligent SCARS™ Investigative ExclusiveIn a new scam starting up in California the scammer claims to have photos of children in the car without lawful child-safety seats or restraints. The phone scammer demands money or will send photos to child welfare/social services & police. If that were true could result in custody issues and fines. The victim must pay $500 immediately or [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: Fake Checks Scams If Someone You Don’t Know Sends You A Check And Asks For Money Back, That’s A Scam Fake checks drive many types of scams — like those involving phony job and income opportunities, online classified ad sales, and others. In a fake check scam, a person you don’t know asks you to deposit a check – sometimes for several thousand dollars and usually for more than you are owed — [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: 2019 Internet Crime Report Released Data Reflects an Evolving Threat and the Importance of Reporting “Criminals are getting so sophisticated. It is getting harder and harder for victims to spot the red flags and tell real from fake.” Donna Gregory, chief, IC3 Internet-enabled crimes and scams show no signs of letting up, according to data released by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in its 2019 Internet Crime Report. The last calendar year saw [...]
Humor As A Tool In Scam Victim Recovery Scam Victim Recovery Psychology A SCARS Insight Authors: • Vianey Gonzalez B.Sc(Psych) – Psychologist, Certified Deception Professional, Psychology Advisory Panel & Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. • Tim McGuinness, Ph.D., DFin, MCPO, MAnth – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. Originally Published: 2019 – Article Updated: 2024 [...]
![Do You Owe Taxes On Money You Lost in Your Scam? [Updated] - 2014 - on SCARS Institute Encyclopedia of Scams RomanceScamsNOW.com -](https://romancescamsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/fatca.png "Do You Owe Taxes On Money You Lost in Your Scam? [Updated] - 2014 fatca")
Do You Owe Taxes on Money You Lost in Your Scam? U.S. Law: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) A SCARS Insight Author: • SCARS Institute Encyclopedia of Scams Editorial Team - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. SCARS Encyclopedia of Scams Article Abstract The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) of 2010 aims to promote tax compliance by requiring foreign financial institutions to report [...]
Chinese And Asian Dating Scams For Men: Understanding the Unique Risks of Dating Asian Women Online How Scams Work - A SCARS Insight Author: • SCARS Institute Encyclopedia of Scams Editorial Team - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. Originally Published: 2014 - Article Updated: 2024 Article Abstract Spotting Asian women scammers involves being vigilant about several key warning signs. These scammers often use real [...]
![An Example of How Scammers Use Emergency Scams - 2014 [UPDATED 2024] - on SCARS RomanceScamsNOW.com](https://romancescamsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/emergency-scams.png "An Example of How Scammers Use Emergency Scams - 2014 [UPDATED 2024] emergency scams")
An Example of How Scammers Use Emergency Scams Scammers employ an emergency is the trigger to get you to send money! They can begin as small emergencies, such as needing a phone card or other small item - this is part of the manipulation. But it progresses to larger and larger amounts of money. Author: • SCARS Editorial Team - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. Originally Published: 2014 [...]
Welcome to The SCARS Official Encyclopedia of Scams Published Since 2000 This is an Official Website Of The Society Of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A U.S. Nonprofit Corporation (incorporated in the State of Florida) SCARS is a crime victims' assistance, advocacy, services, and support & crime prevention/disruption organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A., and Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico - with affiliates and partners in more than 90 countries supporting scam victims worldwide. [...]
AI is Deceiving You - Essay by AI Warning You About AI The Art of AI Deception: How AI is Mastering the Craft of Manipulation & Lies AI (Artificial Intelligence) / An Essay - A SCARS Institute Insight Authors: • Written by: Venice.ai, LLM & Artificial Intelligence • Edited & Interviewed by: Tim McGuinness, Ph.D., DFin, MCPO, MAnth - Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens [...]
Recovery Psychology: There Is No He Or She In Romance Scams Correcting Confusion And Helping Victims To Understand Recovery Psychology Recovery Psychology - A SCARS Insight Understanding Recovery Psychology - There Is Not 'Him' or 'Her' Almost all Romance Scam Victims start out confused about who scammed them and about their recovery! Often scam victims associate the scam with the face in the photos, even if intellectually they understand that [...]
Pseudocide - A New Scammer Approach To Ending A Relationship Scam When Scammers & Businesses Fake Their Own Death How Scams Work - A SCARS Insight Pseudocide - How Scammers Are Learning To Be Smarter About Ending Their Scams! Pseudocide: A Way to convince victims to go away quietly! What is Pseudocide? Pseudocide, also known as faked death or staged death, is the act of intentionally deceiving [...]
Welcome to SCARS RomanceScamsNOW.com A FREE Resource from the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. The World's Leading Information Provider About Relationship Scams Quick Links: New Articles • Updated Articles • Videos • For New Victims Key Categories See More SCARS|RSN Articles Below ... Romance Relationship Scams Pig Butchering Investment Scams Impersonation Photo Galleries About Scams [...]
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An Updated Compendium Of Confidence Tricks A Collection of Scams & Cons A SCARS Insight Confidence Tricks And Scams And Frauds Confidence tricks and scams are difficult to classify because they change often and often contain elements of more than one type. Throughout this list, the perpetrator of the confidence trick is called the "con artist" or simply "artist", and the intended victim is the "mark". Particular scams are mainly [...]
An Open Letter to ID.me and the Government Agencies Using Them A Guest Commentary by Brett Johnson Presented by SCARS ID.me - A Major Risk To Public Privacy? A guest editorial by Brett Johnson, Member of the SCARS Advisory Board In Brett's own words (with minor corrections for spelling since Google penalizes us for spelling errors) We present this as is because the topics raised are important for all [...]
Are You A Money Mule? This SCARS Guide Will Help You Better Understand What A Money Mule Is And The Potential Consequences To Someone That Becomes One. Always remember that if you were involved as a money mule unknowingly, you must contact your local police or you might be considered an active participant. A SCARS Steps Guide 5 Steps Guide For A Money Mule Have You Received Or Collected Money [...]
Please Help Us Help Scam Victims Worldwide By Making A Small Donation To SCARS Your generous contribution of Just $5 will help us continue to educate & support the victims of relationship scams. You will be helping to support free scam avoidance education for adults & children, free victims' assistance & support, free victim recovery programs, real advocacy on behalf of victims, online crime prevention programs, and so much more that SCARS delivers. Click [...]
SCARS™ Insight: Displaying Stolen Photos Of Children Scammers Constantly Use Stolen Photos Of Adults To Scam People, But They Also Use The Children Of The People In The Stolen Photos. IS IT ILLEGAL? YES, IT IS. However, there are different elements to this discussion, including if it is ethical for anti-scam groups to post those photos! Consider if you are the parent of one of these children? How would you feel about your child being [...]
SCARS™ News: Congressman Matt Gaetz Files Criminal Referral Against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) filed a criminal referral against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for making materially false statements to Congress while under oath during two joint hearings in Congress on April 10th, 2018 and April 11th, 2018. During a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and also a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate [...]
SCARS™ Insight: Jail Terms In Nigeria A SCARS Editorial About The Impact Of Short Prison Sentences In Nigeria [lwptoc] Most Victims Complain About The Length Of Jail Sentences In Nigeria For Scamming Some scammers are given just a month in jail. Does that seem fair? This is a criticism based upon ignorance that we hope to correct. First, Remember That In Nigeria Arrests Have Gone From Less Than 50 A Year To More Than [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: According To New Science Financial Scam Victims Have Higher Risk Of Alzheimer's From Reuter's Health Older adults who are victims of financial scams may be more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than elderly people who don’t get tricked by scammers, a small U.S. study suggests. For the study, researchers gave scam awareness questionnaires to 935 older people who didn’t have dementia. Five questions assessed how open people were to sales [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: How You Just Might Get Your Money Back! The following is an editorial and is NOT intended to express a legal opinion. We strongly recommend that all matters of law be discussed and reviewed with a licensed attorney. There Just Might Be A Way To Recover Some Money Is Specific Countries SMALL CLAIMS COURT What is a Small Claim? Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small [...]
SCARS™ Special Report: The Culture Of Scamming - Wealth & Ritual In Africa Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Benz Inspire Fetish Madness & Rituals In Africa’s Biggest Cemetery Nigerians Are Growing Tired Of The Wealth And Corruption That Scamming Brings Rolls-royce, Ferrari, Benz Inspire Fetish Madness & Rituals In Africa’s Biggest Cemetery From: The Nigerian Voice News - Opinion / Editorial If you have not bought $13m Rolls-Royce Sweptail, $4.5m Lamborghini Veneno, $3m Ferrari Pininfarina Sergio and [...]
SCARS™ Guest Author Program If you would like to share your experience with scams and scammers without millions of website and social media readers, we welcome the submission of Guest Articles & Editorials. All articles or editorials submitted must be the property of the author or submitter. IT MUST BE RELATED TO THE TOPIC OF SCAMS AND SCAMMERS Please submit your article by filling in the following form. - - - - - - - [...]
SCARS COMMENTARY: The Truth About SCARS & What Haters Say It is a new year and it is time for some hard truths and reflection as the year begins. One of the things we are told over and over is how certain anti-scam hate groups, well ... HATE US Over the years we wondered why that was. We are fighting the good fight. We are helping thousands through our victims' assistance efforts. We educate and [...]
Editorials & Opinions On Scamming ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PERSONS IN STOLEN PHOTOS For some time, there have been a number of die-hard believers in the idea that all, or most of the people in the stolen photos are in league with the scammers, or that they themselves are the scammers. This Is Living In Denial There is evidence, held by Davin Rosenblatt that Yuliana Avalos and her boyfriend have been connected to African scammers. Either in [...]
RSN Editorial: Who Is The Person In The Photo? We are constantly asked by victims to identify the person in the photo that they fell in love with. They want to save them, or tell them how they feel, or tell them their photo is being used by scammers. It doesn't matter who he or she is, his or her photo was stolen by scammers. You have to understand that you do not have a relationship [...]
Let's talk about something terrible! Politics! OMG Run Away! Seriously! Politics! Ok, we have a unique perspective that is not based on political parties, but rather actual actions. When you are a victim, what matters to you is that someone destroyed your life, your heart, and your wallet - funny how that sounds like politicians, right? But seriously, our decisions have consequences. In 2000, in the United States we elected George W Bush - a [...]
Scam Basics: Love for Sale According To Law Enforcement Who Investigate Online Romance Scams Worldwide, These Dating Or Sweetheart Scams Follow A Surprisingly Consistent Arc Here’s how these online frauds or swindles typically unfold. 1. The Bait The scammers set up a fake profile on a social-media or dating site. The man they invent is a ruggedly handsome, middle-aged widower who yearns to love again. He usually works in a serious job in a far-flung [...]
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