The isolated life  of the scam victim

Scammers specialize in isolating their victims.  It is a vital component of most scams.  Scammers use secrecy, threats, elitism, lies, half-truths, and special relationship to establish their dominance over their victim’s thoughts and emotions.  Their objective is to create a silent puppet who will follow their every suggestion and command, and they are very good at what they do.  For more information, take The Backstage Tour.

Once a scam victim begins to understand that he or she has been used by a scammer, the isolation becomes self-imposed out of fear of discovery and ridicule by friends, relatives, and in many cases, law enforcement.

For this reason, scam victims are among the loneliest people on earth, subject to severe depression, life-threatening stress, and the aggravation of existing health issues.  Stroke, heart attack, and suicide are not an unusual result of the realization that one has been the victim of a scam that leads to dire financial and legal consequences.

If you have been a scam victim, you will likely feel an immediate rapport with the words of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sounds of Silence. 

I know I did.

     – Annie McGuire, Founder, Fraud Aid, Inc.