The Color of Scams and Victimization

Have you ever wondered what color something like scams or trauma might be?

Sometimes, looking at concepts through a different sensory lens can be useful. By assigning a color, we can find insights into an aspect we might not have considered before. This synesthetic approach transforms an abstract experience into a tangible symbol, revealing its emotional weight and nature, symbolizing scams as a warning red, trauma as a suffocating black, recovery as green, offering a new language to understand complex feelings.

The Color of Scams & Victimization

The concept of “scam victimization” doesn’t have an official or universally recognized color. However, this question is interesting because color is often used symbolically to represent abstract concepts, and we can explore the most common associations.

If we were to assign a color to scam victimization based on common symbolism, the strongest candidate would be red. This is a major reason why the coloration of our SCARS Institute RomanceScamsNOW.com website is RED.

Here’s why:

• Red as Warning: Red is universally used as a warning signal. Think of stop signs, stoplights, warning labels, and alert notifications. Scams are a threat, and red is the color that screams “danger” and “be careful.”
• Red as Financial Loss: In finance, red ink is used to denote debt, losses, and negative balances. Being scammed often involves direct financial loss, so red strongly represents the monetary damage.
• Red as Deception and Embarrassment: While less common, red can be associated with shame or embarrassment, which are emotions many victims feel. The phrase “caught red-handed” links the color to being exposed for wrongdoing, which can be flipped to the feeling of being exposed as a victim.

Other colors could also be argued, though less strongly:

• Green: This is a counterintuitive but relevant choice. Scams are fundamentally driven by greed, the lure of money. Green is the color of cash (in the US) and symbolizes wealth and prosperity, which is the bait used in many scams (e.g., “get rich quick” schemes). So, green could represent the cause of victimization.
• Black: Black is associated with crime, illegality (as in “black market” or “blackmail”), and darkness. This color could represent the criminal, hidden nature of the scammer and their activities.
• Yellow: Similar to red, yellow is a color of caution. It’s a bit softer than red but still serves as a signal to be vigilant and proceed with care.

Ultimately, there is no single correct answer. But if you had to pick one color that most people would instinctively associate with the danger and loss of being scammed, red is the most powerful and widely understood symbol.

The Color of Trauma

There is no official or universally assigned color for psychological trauma, as color perception is deeply subjective. However, if we explore the common symbolic and emotional associations, certain colors emerge as powerful representations of the experience.

The most fitting color for psychological trauma is often considered to be black.

Here’s why black resonates so strongly:

• Darkness and the Unknown: Trauma can feel like being trapped in a dark place, a void where light and hope are absent. It represents the unknown parts of the mind that hold the painful memories, the “shadow self” that people fear.
• Emptiness and Numbness: A core component of trauma can be emotional numbness, dissociation, or a profound sense of emptiness. Black is the color of absence, the void left by overwhelming pain.
• Fear and Grief: Black is culturally (Western Culture) associated with death, mourning, and fear. These emotions are inextricably linked with the experience of trauma, whether it’s the grief for a lost sense of self or the fear that the trauma could happen again.

Other colors also carry significant weight in representing different facets of trauma:

• Gray: This is perhaps the second most powerful color. Gray represents the “graying out” of life, the loss of vibrancy and joy. It symbolizes the fog of confusion, dissociation, and depression that often accompanies trauma. It’s the color of a world that has lost its color.
• Red: Red represents the raw, active, and visceral nature of trauma. It’s the color of blood, of the initial wound, of rage, of alarm, and of the hypervigilance that keeps the nervous system on “high alert.” It’s the color of the flashbacks and the physiological panic response.
• Deep, Muddy Brown: This color can symbolize the feeling of being stuck, trapped, or “sunk” in the memory of the trauma. It evokes a sense of filth, shame, or being soiled by the experience, a feeling some survivors struggle with.
• Jagged, Violent Colors (like Acid Yellow or a Bruised Purple): These colors don’t represent a single hue but rather a chaotic combination. They can visually depict the shattering, intrusive, and violent nature of traumatic memories, which are often not coherent but come as flashes of disturbing images and sensations.

It’s also important to note that healing from trauma is often associated with the gradual return of color. The journey might involve moving from black and gray to softer, more hopeful colors like blue (calm, sadness – this is why our ScamsNOW.com magazine is blue) and eventually to warmer, more vibrant colors like yellow (hope, clarity) and green (renewal, growth).

The Color of Recovery

While there’s no official color for scam victim recovery, we can assign one based on the symbolism of healing, progress, and empowerment. If scam victimization is represented by warning red or the darkness of black, then its recovery would be represented by a color that signifies the opposite: clarity, growth, and hope.

The most fitting color for scam victim recovery is green.

Here’s why green is so appropriate:

• Growth and Renewal: Green is the primary color of nature, symbolizing new life, growth, and renewal. Recovery from a scam is a process of personal growth, learning from the experience, rebuilding what was lost, and emerging stronger. It’s about healing and starting fresh, like a plant growing back after a harsh winter.
• Moving Forward: In traffic signals, green means “go.” This perfectly captures the essence of recovery: the moment a victim stops being stuck in the past (the red light of the scam) and begins to move forward with their life. It represents permission to proceed and leave the negative experience behind.
• Healing and Balance: Green is often associated with healing and well-being. It’s considered a calming, restorative color that represents balance. For a victim whose world has been thrown into chaos and imbalance, green symbolizes the restoration of financial and emotional stability.
• Financial Recovery: In many Western cultures, green is the color of money. Since scams almost always involve financial loss, green directly represents the goal of recouping funds, rebuilding savings, and achieving financial health once more.

Other colors could also represent aspects of the recovery journey:

• Gold or Yellow: This color represents the wisdom gained from the experience. While the scam was a painful lesson, the victim is now “wiser” and more discerning. It symbolizes the light of clarity and knowledge that replaces the darkness of deception.
• Blue: Blue represents the calm and peace that comes after the storm of initial anger, panic, and shame. It’s the color of emotional stability, clear thinking, and the serenity that comes with acceptance and moving on.
• Silver: This color can symbolize resilience. Silver is strong but has also been refined by fire. It represents the strength a victim discovers within themselves and the polished, valuable person they become through overcoming adversity.

While several colors can touch on different parts of the journey, green is the most comprehensive symbol for scam victim recovery, encapsulating growth, forward momentum, and the restoration of both personal and financial well-being.

What do you think?

Prof. Tim McGuinness, Ph.D.
January 2026