At the height of the summer of the first pandemic in 2020, I transferred over £18,000 to a scammer. At the time, I had never heard of a scam like the one that ensnared me, but I later learned that it was a classic of the genre. A call from my bank’s “fraud team” alerted me to “suspicious activity” on my account, followed by a call. You will be instructed to move your vulnerable funds to a new “secure” account. Later that night, my housemate looked on in horror as I described my conversation with the kind man at the bank. “Moya,” he said, surprised. “It was a scam.” By the time I realized what had happened, it was too late. My three bank accounts each had £0.00.
For the next few weeks, I felt like my heart was falling apart. I struggled with anxiety sporadically for years, but it always surfaced subtly and stealthily, like smoke creeping out from under the door. This was another level of mental destruction, more like being hit in the head with a club. I was 28 years old, and all my future imaginations for my life were predicated on that savings. Now I believed those futures had been suddenly and violently erased. If I wasn’t sobbing and vomiting on the street, I felt numb and dissociated, as if I was floating above me. For the first time in my life, I was glad I didn’t have to wake up in the morning. I didn’t want to die, but I didn’t need to exist either.
My entire future life was predicated on that savings. Now I believed those futures suddenly and violently erased
In the end, I was lucky. The bank refunded me the full amount. But since then, every time I see a headline highlighting the alarming levels of fraud and fraud in the UK, I think about the people behind the numbers. According to a UK Finance report, £459.7m was lost in 2023 in ‘authorised’ fraud cases where victims were tricked into transferring money to fraudsters. Confirmed cases have increased by more than 50% since 2020.
Against the backdrop of Britain’s mental health crisis, experts are increasingly sounding the alarm about the impact scams have on victims’ psyches. Which recent study shows that three in five fraud victims in the UK say their mental health has been negatively affected by the experience, but another unpublished survey by Lloyds shows that It has been shown that 69% of people experience poor mental health. Fraud victims whose mental health has been affected often report anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Professor Mark Button, director of the Center for Cybercrime and Economic Crime at the University of Portsmouth, said he was aware of “a number of cases” where someone committed suicide “as a result of being a victim of fraud”.
On one level, this is not surprising. We know that financial burden is associated with mental illness, and it’s not unreasonable to assume that people can suffer after a crime that damages their bank balance. But experts say the relationship between fraud and psychological health is more complex.
“If you’ve lost £20,000 you might say it must be a terrible trauma,” says Wayne Stevens, national fraud director at Victim Support. “But in reality, we’re seeing the devastating effects of people who manage to get by losing that amount, and then people who lose a tenth of that amount.” Fraud Stevens says our response to is usually determined not by financial loss, but by factors such as: Whether there is anything else going on in our lives, such as (for example) bereavement or employment (problems, or) unstable housing. Or whether you have experienced personal trauma. ”
Illustration: Ali Liloan/Guardian
Even if the scam fails, the psychological impact can be severe. Fanmi (pseudonym), a 78-year-old London resident, was recently the victim of an attempted computer hijacking scam. “I received multiple alerts that appeared to be from a legitimate cybersecurity company and asked me to enter personal information to protect my computer,” says the 20-year-old, who has been on medication and therapy for anxiety disorders since the 1980s. This retired teacher says: Funmi is often concerned about her online security and followed the alert’s instructions. Suddenly, a scammer took control of her computer. “I saw the cursor flying all over the place, and at that time[the scammer]was in my PayPal, so I thought, what the heck?”
The scammer tried to steal just £35 from Funmi, but her bank immediately blocked the transaction. But the experience still “amplifies” her anxiety, especially now that she’s exposed to phishing and phishing emails. (Scammers have been known to sell lists of victim details to other criminals.) It has become a tool,” says Funmi. “I feel paranoid about everything.”
Paranoia is a common reaction after being scammed, and it can be difficult to overcome. Stephen Walters, a psychotherapist and registered member of the British Association of Counseling and Psychotherapy, said he had noticed an increase in clients wanting to discuss fraud in recent years. He explains that falling victim to fraud or fraud can force us to reevaluate our “internal working models,” which are unconscious beliefs we hold about ourselves and others. “We might think, ‘Is the world around me full of trustworthy, well-intentioned people?’ Or is it full of people out to get me?”
After being scammed, we “may start to look at ourselves and say, ‘Do I have a good personality?'” Do you know what to look for in people? Maybe I may be really gullible,” continues Walters. “We begin to doubt not only others, but ourselves.”
It was very easy to understand. If I were you, I’d be the one to warn someone, “That’s a scam. It’s not right.” still i am here
For Des Healy, 59, from Peacehaven, East Sussex, being scammed not only meant a financial loss but also fundamentally challenged his sense of self. The scam began in August 2023 when he clicked on a Facebook ad for an “AI cryptocurrency platform.” Encouraged by nightly phone conversations with affable men posing as financial advisors, he was reassured by Elon Musk and Martin Lewis’ apparent support for the platform. Healy began investing increasingly large amounts, eventually losing £76,000.
Since the fraud incident, Mr Healy has suffered from symptoms of depression, anxiety and paranoia. When he started crying during a meeting with his GP about a physical health problem, the doctor concluded that he was probably experiencing a physical reaction to the emotional strain of the scam.
Healy comes across as confident and intelligent. He raised his son as a single mother, ran his own business installing bathrooms and kitchens, and had an excellent credit rating until the fraud incident. “I considered myself very street-oriented,” he says. “I’m the person who warns someone, ‘It’s a scam, it doesn’t seem right,’ and yet here I am.”
In the aftermath of a scam, victims can feel even worse in the process of trying to get their money back. Mr Button said the institutions involved in preventing and responding to fraud, including financial institutions, telecommunications companies and tech platforms, were not sufficiently “coordinating” and that essentially “we are not getting the real support we need. is equivalent to a lottery ticket. Of the few victims who reported crimes to authorities, almost half (47%) said they were made to feel “stupid or embarrassed”, according to research by National Trading Standards. Only 34% felt they were fully heard and understood.
Since 2019, most major banks in the UK have signed up to a voluntary code outlining how they will refund victims of bank transfer fraud (also known as ‘authorized push payments’ or APP fraud). Banks can refuse to repay victims if they are determined to have been “grossly negligent.” In other words, to put it simply, they should have paid attention to the victim being harmed. Recent rule changes mean all UK banks must refund victims of APP fraud within five days. However, because the gross negligence warning remains, many victims will still suffer losses.
Margaret (not her real name), a 73-year-old retiree living in Cheshire, was the victim of a similar identity fraud scam to the one I fell victim to. She transferred £19,800 to the criminals, much of it left to her after her husband died last year. Margaret’s bank refused to pay her back, saying it should have known it was a scam. The scammers had coached her to lie when real bank employees asked about the money transfer.
If you’re the target of such a stigmatized crime, it can be unbearable to be blamed by your bank more than anything else. Feeling “utterly stupid” and worried about being judged, Margaret disclosed the scam to just two people outside her immediate family. Two-thirds of fraud victims never disclose their experience to anyone.
Shame closes us down. It prevents us from reaching out and getting help to feel a little better
Psychologist and trauma expert Heather Sequeira, Ph.D., says the shame some people experience after a scam can be compared to other forms of trauma, such as sexual trauma or domestic violence, where the victim is often blamed. ” was similar. Margaret said she felt “violated and abused” by the scam, which is a perfectly appropriate description. A study published in the British Journal of Criminology highlights striking similarities between the manipulative language used by fraudsters and perpetrators of coercive control. “Just as a victim of domestic violence might think, “It was my fault I let him in,” a victim of fraud might think, “I didn’t read it properly,” or “I didn’t sign the letter.” ’” Sequeira says. Shame “shuts us down,” she says. “It keeps them from reaching out for help that might help them feel a little bit better.”
Experts say fraud victims in the UK are being treated badly despite recent changes to reimbursement rules. Banks are not obliged to refund victims for amounts exceeding £85,000, but the Payment Systems Regulator, the organization behind the rule changes, said it would cause fraud victims to suffer “psychological and emotional harm. (Increase). Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said the reimbursement restrictions were “very unfortunate.” Further efforts are needed to reduce the undue psychological burden on fraud victims. ” The government should lead a “more collaborative approach” on the issue, she added.
Until then? “Starting a conversation” may not be the answer to all mental health issues, but in the context of fraud, telling someone is like letting light and air into a dark room with shutters closed. It may become. Some police forces in the UK currently run peer support programs for fraud victims, but many experts want this approach to be rolled out more widely. But there’s also power in talking about the emotional and mental impact of deception in our daily lives. As a lifelong yapper, I felt relief and solidarity in being open about being scammed in the first place and empathizing with other victims. These conversations took place primarily on social media and helped turn my initial feelings of shock and humiliation into cold, righteous anger. I needed that anger as fuel when I was fighting to get my money back.
Mr. Healy, the only fraud victim I spoke to for this article who asked to be quoted by his real name, also refuses to be shamed into silence. “At first I didn’t want to tell anyone,” he says. “I was very embarrassed. But at the end of the day, I thought, why am I hiding what happened? I’m not the perpetrator. I’m the victim.” Friends, colleagues, neighbors Through conversations with others, Healy realized how common scams are. Fraud happens every day to people of all ages and backgrounds. It helped him stop blaming himself. “I still have an exorbitant amount of debt,” he says. “But when I started talking about it, I felt liberated.”
If you have been a victim of fraud, you can access free advice and support through Victim Support. The Age UK Fraud Prevention and Support Program aims to prevent older people from becoming victims of fraud and to support older people who are victims of fraud. For more resources, visit stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk.
