Advocacy group helps victims overcome the shame of fraud
AARP: 53% of Americans polled think fraud victims are “culpable and blameworthy”
(InvestigateTV) — According to a 2015 Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) survey, two-thirds of scam victims experienced symptoms of trauma after the crime.
Renee Williams, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), said shame and sadness is a common occurrence for fraud victims.
In her work with the NCVC, Williams helps people struggling to overcome the guilt or embarrassment that often follows being scammed.
“There is a misperception regarding scam survivors. And that’s that it is somehow your fault and the other thing that people don’t think about too is a lot of folks say, ‘oh it’s only money, you weren’t harmed,’” Williams noted. “And what people don’t realize is for a scam survivor and for a scam victim, that harm, that emotional harm can be just as bad and even more longstanding. Because they have to interact with society.”
To combat victim shaming, Williams said people need to know there are resources to help them.
The National Center for Victims of Crime with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation wrote a guide to assist victims of financial fraud. It is a tool that advocates, lawyers, law enforcement and counselors can use when interacting with those struggling to overcome monetary loss and embarrassment.
They also have a financial fraud checklist available online for those who experienced everything from identity theft to investment fraud.
Williams also recommends that people contact state and federal agencies if they feel like they have experienced a financial scam.
“And everybody should know that their state’s attorney general and the United States attorney for their district, that is a slightly different thing, that’s a federal person and then there’s a state attorney general – they all have fraud units,” Williams explained. “So that is usually your first line on who to go to, if your local police department tells you they can’t help.”
Lastly, Williams urged victims to remember that they did absolutely nothing wrong. She urged them to come forward and report fraud to help stop the spread of the crime.
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