5 Simple Ways for Scam Victims-Survivors to Avoid Common Thinking Errors During Scam Recovery

Helping Scam Victims-Survivors Control Their Decision Making and Biases

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Authors:
•  Vianey Gonzalez B.Sc(Psych) – Licensed Psychologist, Specialty in Crime Victim Trauma Therapy, Neuropsychologist, 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, Polymath, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

About This Article

Recovering from a scam is a challenging process that often involves addressing thinking errors that can impede decision-making and emotional recovery. Scam victims may fall into common traps such as cognitive biases, emotional reasoning, overconfidence, and all-or-nothing thinking, which can cloud judgment and hinder progress.

Additionally, biases like hindsight and memory distortion can lead to excessive guilt, while ignoring the role of randomness may cause victims to overanalyze events. Victims may also struggle with attributional bias, either taking too much or too little blame. To move forward, it's important to recognize these thinking errors, seek objective feedback, and practice self-awareness.

By reshaping how decisions are made and understanding the psychological factors at play, scam victims can regain confidence and control during their recovery process.

Five Ways for Scam Victims-Survivors to Avoid Common Thinking (Decision-Making) Errors During Scam Recovery

Plus: Tackling Unawareness, Memory Bias, Randomness, and Attributional Bias in Decision-Making

Recovering from a scam is a deeply emotional and challenging process, especially when it comes to Decision-Making. Scam victims often struggle with decision-making and fall prey to thinking errors similar to those that led to their victimization. Beyond basic cognitive pitfalls, there are deeper psychological biases that can further complicate the recovery process. Recognizing these errors and understanding how they influence our thinking can help scam victims make better, more informed decisions as they heal.

Here's a brief guide to avoiding common thinking (Decision-Making) errors during scam recovery, including key biases that can hinder progress.

Recognizing Cognitive Biases

After falling for a scam, victims often replay past decisions and may develop patterns of negative thinking. Common biases like confirmation bias—where people focus only on information that confirms what they already believe—can cloud judgment and impede recovery.

How to Address It: Seek advice from objective sources such as trusted friends, therapists, or support groups. This external feedback can help you assess the situation more clearly and prevent you from getting stuck in harmful self-reinforcing loops. Cultivate an open mind and be willing to challenge your assumptions.

Avoiding Emotional Reasoning

Emotional reasoning happens when victims allow their feelings to dictate decisions, overriding logic. Scam victims may make choices based on fear, anger, or shame, rather than thinking rationally about their next steps.

How to Address It: Learn to separate your emotions from the facts. Writing down your thoughts or talking them out with someone can help you ground your decision-making in reason, not reaction. Take time before making important decisions to ensure your emotions aren't driving your choices.

Understanding Overconfidence and Being "Unskilled and Unaware of It"

Overconfidence can emerge after a scam, as victims might believe that being tricked once makes them wiser and less vulnerable. However, the Dunning-Kruger effect—where unskilled individuals overestimate their knowledge or abilities—can further complicate recovery. Victims may underestimate future risks or believe they won't fall for another scam without fully understanding how they were misled the first time.

How to Address It: Acknowledge that you may not know everything about scams or deception tactics. Always stay cautious, continue to educate yourself about new and evolving scams, and seek professional guidance when necessary. Being aware of your limitations can make you more vigilant in the future.

Escaping the Trap of "All or Nothing" Thinking

Victims may fall into "all or nothing" thinking—believing that because they were scammed once, they'll always be vulnerable. This mindset can create hopelessness, and victims may feel like they'll never recover or rebuild trust.

How to Address It: Recognize that life isn't black and white. Recovery happens in stages, and small improvements are still progress. Break down big challenges into manageable steps, and acknowledge your progress along the way. This can help you regain a sense of control over your life and decisions.

Combating Hindsight Bias and Memory Bias

Hindsight bias occurs when people believe they "should have known" about the scam after it's happened. Similarly, memory bias—the tendency to misremember events in a way that fits current beliefs—can distort the victim's recollection of what actually happened. These biases can lead to excessive guilt, shame, and self-blame.

How to Address It: Understand that scammers are experts at manipulation, and no one can predict the future perfectly. Instead of beating yourself up over what you "should have known," focus on what you've learned and how to protect yourself going forward. It's essential to be kind to yourself and recognize that memory isn't always accurate, especially in high-stress situations.

Ignoring the Role of Randomness

After a scam, victims often try to make sense of their experience by seeking patterns or reasons for what happened. This can lead to ignoring the role of randomness in events. Victims may overanalyze every detail, trying to find a definitive cause, when in reality, many scams exploit random chance.

How to Address It: Accept that not everything has a clear reason or pattern. Scams often rely on randomness to find victims—just because you were targeted doesn't mean it was your fault or that you did something specific to deserve it. Embrace the idea that some things are out of your control, and focus on the things you can control moving forward.

Attributional Bias: Taking Too Much or Too Little Blame

Attributional bias occurs when people either over-attribute their actions to personal factors or externalize the blame entirely. Scam victims might swing between blaming themselves too harshly for the scam or placing all the blame on external factors. Both extremes can hinder recovery.

How to Address It: Balance personal responsibility with understanding the external factors involved in the scam. Recognize that while you may have made mistakes, the scammer is ultimately the one at fault. Working with a therapist or support group can help you find a healthy middle ground in assigning responsibility.

Conclusion

Recovering from a scam involves not only healing emotionally and financially but also reshaping how you approach decision-making in the future. By understanding and addressing thinking errors—such as overconfidence, emotional reasoning, and biases like hindsight and attributional bias—scam victims can regain control of their thoughts and actions during the recovery process.

It's important to stay mindful of these thinking errors and practice self-awareness, objectivity, and self-compassion as you navigate your recovery. Building better mental habits can help you move forward with confidence and resilience.

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