Changes In A Scam Victim’s Life

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

After A Scam Or Crime Is Over, Its Victims Are Left To Figure Out How To Go Forward And What Changes Need To Be Made In Their Life!

Scam victim changes come at every stage of the post-crime recovery. They vary from stage to stage as the person goes from being a victim to a survivor to a thrive! At each stage, different changes are needed both for safety and to allow emotional and psychological recovery.

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In Japan – Secondary Victimization by Law Firms

By Rika Takebe, Vice Director, NPO Charms – a Janaese Nonprofit Supporting Japanese Scam Victims [on Facebook]

In Japan, Law Firms “Specialized In The Romance Scams / Money Recovery” Come To The Top Of Search

In Japan, if you search “romance scams” (国際ロマンス詐欺) on Google in the Japanese language, the law offices claim to be specialized in online romance scams come to the top of the search. These law offices say they have successfully recovered the loss for the online romance scam victims.

This is becoming a secondary victimization in Japan.

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Scam Victims Use Work To Avoid Healing

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

When Scam Victims Throw Themselves Into Their Work After A Scam It Can Be To Avoid Confronting What Has Happened To Them

When scam victims experience trauma, it can have a profound impact on their emotional well-being and daily lives.

In some cases, trauma survivors may immerse themselves deeply in their work as a coping mechanism to avoid thinking or feeling the pain associated with their traumatic experiences.

Trauma can have a profound impact on a scam victim, both emotionally and mentally. In some cases, traumatized victims may find it difficult to cope with their emotions and may turn to work as a way to avoid dealing with their trauma.

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Scam Victims & Mental Health Blaming

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Mental Health Blaming For Scam Victims Is An Insidious Undermining Of Those Struggling To Heal And Recover

Let’s be clear, we are not talking about mental health conditions such as psychopathy or narcissism. We are talking about the vastly common depression and anxiety disorders that may affect as many as half of our population and other debilitating disorders that prevent normal people from living their best lives.

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Hong Kong And Mainland Chinese Police In Major Raid

By SCARS Editorial Team Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., portions SCMP

Hong Kong, Mainland Chinese Police Arrest 17 Suspects In Connection With 149 Online Fraud Cases, Including Writers Of Scripted Scam Dialogue/Scripts

Joint Hong Kong & PRC operation breaks up a major group believed to have carried out online scams, including so-called naked chat blackmail, cheating victims out of HK$68.2 million. Writers of scripted dialogue for scammers among those arrested in Hong Kong

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese police have arrested 17 members of a syndicate suspected to be involved in at least 149 online fraud cases, including writers who provided scripted dialogue for swindlers to trick victims.

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The Scout Mindset And Scam Victims

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

A Curious Case Of Opposing Mindsets: Scout Mindset & Soldier Mindset

What Is The “Scout Mindset”

The scout mindset is a way of thinking that emphasizes curiosity, unbiased truth-seeking, and facing reality, even if that reality is unexpected. In the context of scam victims/survivors, we call these “realists.”

It is the opposite of the “soldier mindset”, which is a natural tendency to use motivated (biased) reasoning to defend one’s existing beliefs instead of being open to changing them. This is antithetical to scam victim recovery!

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Government Impersonation Scams Are On The Rise!

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Government Impersonation Scams: What You Need to Know

In today’s digital age, scammers have found new avenues to exploit unsuspecting individuals, and one of the most insidious forms of deception is government impersonation scams. These scams involve fraudsters posing as government officials or agencies to manipulate victims into disclosing sensitive information, making fraudulent payments, or engaging in other illegal activities. This article aims to shed light on the dangers of government impersonation scams, the tactics employed by scammers, and ways to protect oneself from falling victim.

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Major Ivory Coast Scammer Kingpin of OPERA1er Group Arrested

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., portions from Interpol

Ivory Coast’s DITT Arrests A Senior “OPERA1er” Group Kingpin Linked To Cybercrime Around The World

An alleged senior member (kingpin) of the cybercriminal group “OPERA1er” linked to attacks on financial institutions across Africa, Latin America and Asia, has been arrested in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. To achieve this arrest, Côte d’Ivoire’s Directorate of Informatics and Technological Traces (DITT) worked with INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) Singapore, AFRIPOL, and Group-IB.

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Coming In Contact With Forced Labor Scammer Slaves

By Rika Takebe, Vice Director, NPO Charms – a Janaese Nonprofit Supporting Japanese Scam Victims [on Facebook]

What should I do if a scammer I had contact with reveals that they are a victim of human trafficking and forced labor by a fraudulent organization?

There are limited direct actions you can take. While there is no guarantee of rescue, you can provide information to human rights organizations that fight against human trafficking. This may increase the chances of rescuing the forced labor victims.

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The Mail Is No Longer Safe In The United States

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

The Mail & the Post Office has been a Disaster For Decades

The U.S. Postal Service does a great job with the mail, and has great people doing a hard job! But this appears to be a losing battle!

The simple fact is that the mail does not always go through. If it did then there would be no FedEx, DHS, or UPS. Those companies were the response to a real problem of USPS reliability and performance. After all who pays much higher prices for service if the government service is reliable and safe?

Now we have arrived at a point that is no longer reliable, that the United States Mail is highly vulnerable.

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Google Will Use Everything You Publish To Feed Their Generative AI

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Google’s New Privacy Policy Opens the Door to Web Scraping

Google has updated its privacy policy to allow the company to scrape any publicly available data for use in its artificial intelligence (AI) projects. This means that Google could potentially collect and analyze everything you post online, including your social media posts, blog articles, and even comments on public websites.

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Social Media Prohibition!

US Judge Blocks Biden Officials From Contacting Social Media Sites

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

A Major Blow To The Biden Administration’s Attempts To Control Social Media

The Attorney Generals for Louisiana and Missouri have filed a lawsuit alleging that the federal government is unlawfully censoring conservative viewpoints in violation of the First Amendment.

A federal judge, Terry A. Doughty, has ruled that several Biden administration officials are prohibited from contacting social media companies regarding the moderation of posts protected by the First Amendment.

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Federal Trade Commission Going After Fake Reviews

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Federal Trade Commission Announces Proposed Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials

The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule to stop marketers from using illicit review and endorsement practices such as using fake reviews, suppressing honest negative reviews, and paying for positive reviews, which deceive consumers looking for real feedback on a product or service and undercut honest businesses.

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Thoughts About Boundaries

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Boundaries & No Self Limits – A Leading Cause Of Scams

What Are Boundaries and Why Do YOU Need Them?

Boundaries are imaginary lines that separate us from each other. It separates your physical space, your feelings, needs, and responsibilities from others.

Your boundaries also tell other people how they can treat you – what’s acceptable and what isn’t. Without boundaries, people may take advantage of you because you haven’t set limits about how you expect to be treated.

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Synchronicities? Is There A Relationship With Scams?

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Synchronicities: For Scam Victims Coincidences Are Everywhere! Or Are They?

What are Synchronicities?

Synchronicities are meaningful coincidences or occurrences that seemingly have no causal relationship but are deeply resonant or significant to the individuals experiencing them. These events often appear as striking coincidences, where multiple events or circumstances align in a way that feels meaningful or purposeful.

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Bank Account Takeover Fraud Can Happen To You! A Victim’s Story!

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. – Video by CBS

This Chase Bank Account Customer Lost Here Life Savings To Bank Account Takeover Fraud And The Bank Blames Her!

A small business owner lost her life’s savings when scammers pretending to be Chase bank employees defrauded her out of $160,000 by taking over her account.

Chase refused to refund any of her money, saying she did not take appropriate steps to protect her account.

Experts say the bank should adopt stricter security measures to protect customers.

Anna Werner reports in this video!

About Bank Account Takeover Fraud (Scams)

A bank account takeover (BATO) phone scam is a type of fraud in which the scammer calls the victim and pretends to be from their bank. The scammer may say that Read More …

Scam Victim’s Sacred Beliefs & Their Brain

An Essay About Scammer Manipulation & Victim Recovery

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Sacred Beliefs & The Brain

In A Very Real Sense, A Relationship Scam Is A Full-on Attack On Your Sacred Beliefs!

When we refer to “sacred beliefs” in this article, we are referring to a victim’s closely held core beliefs, not to their religious beliefs.

The Brain & Sacred Beliefs

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Victimology – What Is It?

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

The Science of VICTIMOLOGY

Pronounced: vic·tim·ol·o·gy

Introduction

Victimology is the study of the victims of crime and the psychological effects on them resulting from their experience. “specialists in victimology will study how best to help the victims of crime recover” and what causes vulnerability to crime.

Victimology is considered a science. It is a branch of criminology that scientifically studies the relationship between an injured party and an offender by examining the causes and the nature of the consequent suffering.

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Walmart Facilitated Scams According To The FTC

By FTC & SCARS Editorial Team

Walmart: FTC Files Amended Complaint Charging that Walmart Facilitated Scams Through Its Money Transfer Services That Fleeced Customers Out of Hundreds of Millions

The Federal Trade Commission filed an amended complaint against Walmart – bolstering the agency’s case that Walmart allowed its money transfer services to be used by scammers, who fleeced consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The FTC filed the amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Walmart, following the court’s March 27, 2023 ruling on the FTC’s initial complaint. The amended complaint adds further details on Walmart’s alleged violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, including the Rule’s ban on the use of cash-to-cash money transfers in any telemarketing transaction.

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The Tao – The Philosophy of the Path to Recovery

By Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Tao – This is the Way

A relationship scam is a vicious crime that has the potential not only to be devastatingly traumatic but can almost destroy the very soul of its victims. The Tao – the way – offers an approach to recover from the crime and the devastation to the self that the scam inflicts.

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Reginald Fowler – Ex-NFL Football Team Own Convicted Of $700 Million Scam

By SCARS Editorial Team –  Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., portions AP

Reginald Fowler – Ex-Part Owner Of Minnesota Vikings Gets Over Six Years In Cryptocurrency Scam

Scams Come In All Forms! So Do Scammers Such As Reginald Fowler!

Reginald Fowler, a former part-owner of the Minnesota Vikings who defrauded a short-lived professional football league known as the Alliance of American Football in a $700 million cryptocurrency scam was sentenced Monday to over six years in prison.

Reginald Fowler, 64, of Chandler, Arizona, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to six years and three months in prison and was ordered to forfeit $740 million and pay restitution of $53 million.

The Alliance of American Football met a speedy end in 2019 when it ran out of money that’s to Reginald Fowler.

Prosecutors said Reginald Fowler lied to the league’s executives Read More …

Jerry Moran Senate Campaign Scammed Out Of $690,000 In BEC Scam

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., portions AP

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran’s Reelection Campaign Scammed Out Of $690K – A Classic Business Email Compromise Scam

Someone scammed U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran’s reelection campaign out of $690,000 by getting the Kansas Republican’s accounting firm to wire the money to fraudulent bank accounts, Jerry Moran’s office said.

Jerry Moran’s campaign treasurer, Timothy Gottschalk, notified the Federal Election Commission by email on Dec. 8 of “fraudulent activity by a third-party cyber-criminal.” The letter said that after the campaign notified a local sheriff’s office on Nov. 16, eight days after the general election, the case was forwarded to the FBI and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

The letter said that Senator Jerry Moran’s campaign received two fraudulent invoices that appeared to be from SRCP Media Inc., a Read More …

Impersonators & Tribute Performers Banned By Meta

By BBC

Impersonators of Dolly Parton, Britney Spears, And Taylor Swift – Tribute Acts Stage Protest Over Meta ‘Ban’

Impersonators & Tribute acts have staged a protest outside Meta’s London HQ after having Facebook and Instagram profiles deleted because of rules banning people from impersonating others.

Dolly Parton, Freddie Mercury, and Adele impersonators were among those fighting the “unfair” moves, which they said were putting their livelihoods at risk.

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Israel Seized $1.7M in Crypto

By SCARS Editorial Team – Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc., positions from Reuters and CoinDesk

Israel Seized $1.7M in Crypto From Iranian Military and Hezbollah With Chainalysis’ Aid

The Israeli government seized the crypto wallets after an order from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant earlier this week.

The Israeli government has seized $1.7 million in crypto from wallets linked to the Iranian military and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon with the aide of Chainalysis, according to the Defence Minister announced and the crypto investigations firm.

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