Help I have been scammed!
How do we cope with fraud?
If we become a victim of fraud we can beat ourselves up: ‘Why did I do that?’
We can feel like a failure, and we’ve let our family down…
There must be a way to be healed from the effects of fraud.
What is fraud? Victim Support says “There are many words used to describe fraud, such as scam, con, swindle, extortion, sham, double-cross, hoax, cheat and hoodwink.” 1
A dictionary definition of fraud is “wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.” 2
What to do if you are a victim of fraud?
Table of Contents:
1. Being a victim of fraud is horrible and it wrecks lives.
Fraud can devastate individuals, families and businesses.
We can suddenly find ourselves being dropped into a debt that we will find hard, or impossible to pay back, or our whole future financial stability is suddenly stolen from us.
Fraud can destroy or cripple businesses so that staff have to be laid off causing tremendous personal hardships, or the business owners suddenly find themselves in serious debt.
2. Be fraud aware of scammers.
We can believe that we would never get caught by fraud but no one is immune to it:
The Crime Survey of England and Wales reveal there were 3.4 million incidents of fraud in 2016-17.
National Crime Agency 3
However we think that fewer than 20 per cent of incidents of fraud are actually reported so the true figure may be much higher.
Scammers harvest personal and financial information and use this to commit fraud, so beware of giving anybody that information and do not reveal personal details on platforms like Facebook.
You may even believe you are dealing with a well-known reputable company, but it could be a fraudster impersonating that company.
One way is to never respond immediately to any email or telephone call, because we don’t know whether it is truly that company.
Try to contact any well-known companies by doing an internet search and finding their details on their website and not by clicking on a link in an email.
3. Being a victim of fraud makes us feel stupid and annoyed with ourselves.
We can spend all our time beating ourselves up and saying constantly ‘Why did I do that?’
We can feel like a failure, and we have let our family down.
How do we cope with feelings of failure? The Bible has this interesting verse:
Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place;
Proverbs 24:15-16 NIV
for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
We can fail and fall financially, but the Bible tells us that we will rise again.
We need to continue to be right in all our dealings and the Lord will raise us up – perhaps not immediately, but he will at some point.
If the fraud came because we had not been righteous in our dealings, then we must seek forgiveness and commit ourselves to doing what is right.
4. Being a victim of being scammed can make us bitter and frustrated
One of the problems with being a victim of fraud is that we can be consumed by the unfairness of the situation.
Hatred and bitterness can fill us – we feel so powerless.
What is the opposite force to this hatred and bitterness?
It is God’s constant flowing grace of his undeserving love.
Does that mean that we work up our ‘love’ for these people and forgive and forget them?
No, forgiveness is more about freeing ourselves from bitterness than just forgiving them.
By choosing to forgive them we break that hold they have on us and free the Lord to deal with the fraudsters in his way.
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
Hebrews 12:15 NIV
And yes, we do need to report the fraudsters and scammers to the authorities (report fraud here at Action Fraud. 5 ).
Is there any truth in the newspapers, the internet, and even the Bible?
What charities should you not support?
Here are some popular Christian charities – are they good stewards of money?
5. Being a victim of fraud can make us doubt God.
Why did God allow us to be a victim of fraud?
It seems so unfair.
We could have been doing nothing wrong and suddenly ‘BANG!’ this comes crashing in upon us.
So how do we cope with our doubt?
At the moment we cannot see any help coming from the Lord but obviously, we cannot view it from a position in the future, where we probably could see things differently.
Perhaps we could say in the future, ‘Wow, it could have been a lot worse’ or ‘Yes, he did get me out of that hole!’
That’s where trust in Him comes in – we must cling to Him.
Below are the words from Psalm 7 where David is fleeing from his enemies who want him dead.
It’s a very unfair situation and he tries to cling to God, to find refuge in him.
God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day.
Psalm 7:11-17 NIV
If he does not relent, He will sharpen His sword; He will bend and string His bow.
He has prepared His deadly weapons; He makes ready His flaming arrows.
Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made.
The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads.
I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.”
However tough or bad the situation is, we must not let go of the Lord.
David in the Bible had many bad situations, but he was able to cling to his God in his troubles.
David was also able to worship God, just like Job did in the Bible when he lost everything, he fell to the ground in worship:
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
Job 1:20-22 ESV
And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.’ “
Trust that the Lord knows your situation and pray that He will help you.
Do not blame God, it was the cunning of the fraudster and our naivety or foolishness that allowed them to take advantage of us.
Beloved never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ “
Romans 12:19 ESV
Finally, remember that God is the perfect, all-seeing Judge:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.
Revelation 20:11-15 ESV
From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life.
And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done.
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
The world is full of books, videos, TV shows and films.
One amazing statistic is that: “As of February 2020, more than 500 hours of video were uploaded to YouTube every minute. This equates to approximately 30,000 hours of newly uploaded content per hour.” 6 That is a LOT of people talking, so who can we trust?
Is it good to follow celebrities, sports people, etc?
6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What should I do if I think I’ve been a victim of fraud?
1. If you are in immediate danger then ring ‘999’.
2. If there is a danger of any more money being taken via your bank account or credit card, etc, then stop those cards and freeze those accounts.
3. Get all of your ‘evidence’ together in one place.
4. Fill in a form on the ‘Action Fraud’ website, it may not help you get your money back, but it is another crime that can be put against that criminal if they get caught.
5. Work out if it is feasible or likely that you can get your money or property back.
6. The reality is that the fraudster is unlikely to be able to pay the money back because they rapidly spend it and you do not want to spend even more money on Solicitors and Courts only to find that they cannot get any money back.
Unfortunately, just one in 700 scams results in a conviction. 7
7. Learn where you went wrong in letting the fraudster in.
8. Do not continually beat yourself up, seek help.
Can fraud victims get their money back?
Check with your bank, according to the Payment Services Regulations, banks must refund victims of unauthorised fraud in full, so long as they have not been grossly negligent.
For most other scams and frauds, you will not get your money back.
Who is likely to be a victim of fraud?
Anybody who is too trusting.
We need to be dubious and suspicious of every unknown phone call or email.
Do not make quick decisions.
Remember, fraudsters and scammers are usually charming (to start with).
References – open in new tabs:
‘Fraud’ Victim Support. ↩
‘Fraud’ Oxford Languages. ↩
Photo credit Bibhuranjan ↩
‘Hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute as of February 2020’ Statista ↩
‘How to fight for a fraud refund: Our step-by-step guide to recouping your losses if you fall victim to scammers’ This is Money. ↩