I keep track of the Catfish YouTube Channel and the goings-on in the romance/BitCoin etc. scammer world. The incredible number of people falling victim to scams, primarily online is, frankly, scary.
And after the scam? There is, virtually, nothing that can be done to recover funds, reputation and sense of worth. These garbage wastes of skin move on to new scams, to new victims and it is ESSENTIAL to understand that there is no guilt, no remorse. I often see victims as “How can they live with themselves?!” Quite easily has they do not possess the necessary brain cells operate their daily lives with any sort of integrity.
But, it isn’t just the scammers themselves, it is the passing of judgment of strangers online, family and friends. “How could you (they) be so stupid/gullible?!” Obviously, there are other things going on, loneliness is the primary characteristic although mental illness, dementia and Alzheimer’s are also a factor in some of the cases. It is just so easy to stand back, criticize and ridicule these victims but not so easy to reverse that mirror and look at ourselves. What is missing in our own psyche that makes laughing at these victims so easy to do?
Perhaps instead of being total assholes, sharing information on the avoidance of scammers/fraudsters would be of a lot more assistance than taunts and insults.
I’ve been on social media since before it became known as “social media”; I’ve had romance DMs from the likes of Keanu Reeves, Elon Musk, various C&W musicians (even though I am and have always been a metalhead with an intense dislike for C&W), Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington…poor guys are so lonely and love my profile…🤣🤣🤣. I am fortunate, I have good mental health, I have a sense of self and I am not lonely. I know I am fortunate. It breaks my heart that so many people are not. Most of the scam victims are older, not all but most. Some are desperately lonely, obviously naive and not particularly savvy when it comes to online scammers. They need help, support and a little human caring, not criticism from pompous online keyboard warriors.
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