Shame, guilt, and fear

Once a con artist has completed his scam, he will yank the rug out from under you.  Suddenly, without warning, you have to come to terms with the fact that you have been taken to the cleaners.  

—The effect is devastating - it was planned to be —

From the very start of a scam you are kept just slightly off balance so that you feel you must cling to the con artist for support.  During the entire manipulation, you are being emotionally positioned so that when the con artist disappears, you will feel as if you have pushed off a merry-go-round.  In effect, you were.

You are suddenly left without the rudder in whom you believed with all your heart.  To admit you were wrong can be emotionally shattering.  You are left reeling and alone with that voice inside your head yelling, "What have I done?!"

Dignity and self-esteem are gone, replaced with shame, guilt, embarrassment, and anger (usually self-directed).  You think I'm going overboard with this description?  Not really.  Not only have I been there, but I get letters from victims every day and that's exactly how they all feel.

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Why victims don't report fraud

> Many don't know where to turn, so they don't file a report anywhere.

> Many are so distraught that they contact every agency they can think of, which has no effect at all.

> Many are extremely upset when they try to talk to law enforcement, end up merely sounding hysterical, no clear story emerges, and they give up without having given the police anything to go on.

> Many have been threatened in one way or another by the con artist and are afraid of retribution from either the con artist himself or law enforcement.

> And finally, the majority feel themselves to be damn fools and are not about to make it worse by going public.  They just can't bring themselves to admit they've made a mistake.

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