Created by a Licensed Counselor and Expert in Fraud and Scams for: Advocates, Finance and Banking Professionals, Law Enforcement, Investigators, Clergy, Crisis Line and Peer Support Personnel, Legislators, Corporate Leaders (and any other professionals who provide some form of support to these victims)
Fraud and scam victims are a growing population worldwide and have a difficult time finding appropriate support. It is difficult to reach out because of shame and stigma and when they do, they are often re-traumatized by victim-blaming, or by a professional who does not fully understand this type of crime or the reasons it has such a tremendous emotional impact.
Unfortunately, this population is growing fast. In 2023, the amount scammers stole from victims was more than $10 billion, and this was over five times the amount stolen in 2019 (based on reporting by the FTC). Scammers are becoming more skilled and technological advances are making it easier for them to steal. There is an urgent need for more of us to be knowledgeable about how this kind of crime happens, ways to prevent it, and ways to protect ourselves, too.
Read on to see the full course description, or click below to register for the course today!
Continuing education: 3 hours (pre-approved by NACP for Advocates, simply submit your completion certificate; additional approvals are in progress; please contact me if you have a specific organization in mind and you need help with CEs/CEUs/CPUs)
Course Description:
Join Cathy Wilson, LPC, ACS, in this professional development course to understand the essential factors of working with scam and fraud victims. By gaining this understanding, you will be able to effortlessly provide caring support to the people you work with and talk to who have experienced this type of crime. These crimes are almost always traumatic for a person. Scams in particular are shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and victim-blaming.
We will examine the following topic areas:
- The emotional impact, the intensity of emotions, and the wide range of reactions that people frequently experience.
- Several ways to respond, and importantly, ways NOT to respond; this includes demonstration by viewing several of my videos that have been prepared for victims.
- How victim-blaming and the general public’s lack of understanding about how these crimes occur can contribute to secrecy, stigma, shame and can leave many victims unwilling to seek help.
- The systematic and structured way that scammers target victims and their use of manipulation tactics that include exploitation of biases, thinking errors, persuasion techniques, circumstances and beliefs/values.
This course is created from many voices of victims (survivors!) about what they experienced and what they needed. There are very few published resources about the emotional impact victims experience. Those resources are based on what people share when they are willing to make the information public such as through social media, research, or an FBI report. This course, however, allows you to also gain an understanding directly from my work with scam and fraud survivors who were unwilling to share the information publicly. You’ll gain a deep understanding of the reluctance so many people have about telling anyone, even their closest friends and family.
In addition to the voices of victims/survivors, this material applies many concepts related to the power of manipulation and influence, drawn from resources on social psychology, social engineering, mind control, cults, abusive relationships, and sales/marketing.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain an understanding of the impact on a person after a scam or financial fraud crime has happened to them; this includes emotional, relational, and cognitive effects.
- Learn different ways of responding to a person in this situation, and ways of not responding.
- Understand stigma, victim blaming, and shame and how these contribute to an extremely distressing emotional experience when someone is the victim of fraud or a scam.
- Learn the many tactics that scammers and financial fraud criminals utilize as their weapons to steal from people, and how these can be used against anyone.
Includes a special in-depth section on ways you can help your loved one see that they are in a relationship with a scammer. This requires patience and gentleness, and you’ll learn several ways to approach the topic and support them through the process.
Instructor Credentials:
Cathy Wilson is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado and Arizona, USA, and is also an Approved Clinical Supervisor. She specializes in working with people who have been scammed, and helping them heal and overcome this difficult experience. She has facilitated presentations on many aspects of the emotional impact of being scammed, has written a book on this topic, titled The Emotional Impact of Being Scammed and How to Recover, and has also created several trainings and informative videos on this topic as well.
Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor #6143
Arizona Licensed Professional Counselor #22949
Approved Clinical Supervisor #3328