Ansett
29 October 2005, 05:02
"How could you be such a complete idiot? No one else would have fallen for such a transparent scam. You thought you could be rich and now you’ve lost everything including your home, job, friends and family. Life has no meaning now. How can I tell anyone about how I’ve been taken? I’m so ashamed."
Just some of the thoughts of victims of scams. Sometimes the fraudsters don’t just take their victims money, but also their lives as well. How? Through suicide brought on by depression, shame, poverty etc the list is endless. Scammers can be masters of manipulation and given the right conditions anyone can be a victim.
There are many resources you can turn to for help and support. Some of these resources will be able to offer help with the problems caused by being a victim of these fraudsters. Problems such as financial, emotional, relationships and legal. Again, the list of problems are endless
Some of these resources may surprise you. Family and friends, your G.P., your bank. Some victims may lucky enough to get help through their Human Resources department at work. If you are a member of a trade union your rep. may be able to offer help. For some of you your religious leader may be able to help
Here are some websites in the UK which may be able to help you.
www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/ - a very good site with useful information
www.identitytheft.org.uk/ - again, lots of useful information and links to other sites
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm - “Our advice helps people resolve their debt, benefits, housing, legal, discrimination, employment, immigration, consumer and other problems and is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, nationality, disability or religion.”
www.victimsupport.org/vs_england_wales/index.php - Helping people cope with crime,.
www.samaritans.org.uk/ - Offer confidential support by phone, email or drop in.
Another good resource for reporting crimes in the UK is:
http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/
If you want to remain anonymous when you report then it is better to phone them on 0800 555 111 which is a freephone number where your number is not logged and you do not have to give any personal information if you do not want to.
www.banksafeonline.org.uk
Bank Safe Online sets out simple steps you can take to help keep safe online. They also provide you with updates on the latest scams, and enable you to report any suspicious emails or websites directly to them.
The site contains information on types of scams, how to spot them and how to protect yourself.
www.getsafeonline.org (http://www.getsafeonline.org)
Get Safe Online will help you protect yourself against internet threats. The site is sponsored by government and leading businesses working together to provide a free, public service.
The Department for Trade and Industry has a useful leaflet on how to spot scams.
http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/pdf1/dtioftscamsleaflet.pdf
Scotland
http://www.vssdirectory.org.uk/ is the website of Victim Support Scotland
http://www.multikulti.org.uk/agencies/arabic/scotland/24937/ is the website of an Edinburgh based multi cultural victim support agency which offers help in Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and BSL
http://www.cccs.co.uk/ is a charity which offers free debt counselling throughout the UK.
Sultan, Dibblah, Batman and Goz contributed resources to this thread.
Just some of the thoughts of victims of scams. Sometimes the fraudsters don’t just take their victims money, but also their lives as well. How? Through suicide brought on by depression, shame, poverty etc the list is endless. Scammers can be masters of manipulation and given the right conditions anyone can be a victim.
There are many resources you can turn to for help and support. Some of these resources will be able to offer help with the problems caused by being a victim of these fraudsters. Problems such as financial, emotional, relationships and legal. Again, the list of problems are endless
Some of these resources may surprise you. Family and friends, your G.P., your bank. Some victims may lucky enough to get help through their Human Resources department at work. If you are a member of a trade union your rep. may be able to offer help. For some of you your religious leader may be able to help
Here are some websites in the UK which may be able to help you.
www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/ - a very good site with useful information
www.identitytheft.org.uk/ - again, lots of useful information and links to other sites
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm - “Our advice helps people resolve their debt, benefits, housing, legal, discrimination, employment, immigration, consumer and other problems and is available to everyone regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, nationality, disability or religion.”
www.victimsupport.org/vs_england_wales/index.php - Helping people cope with crime,.
www.samaritans.org.uk/ - Offer confidential support by phone, email or drop in.
Another good resource for reporting crimes in the UK is:
http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/
If you want to remain anonymous when you report then it is better to phone them on 0800 555 111 which is a freephone number where your number is not logged and you do not have to give any personal information if you do not want to.
www.banksafeonline.org.uk
Bank Safe Online sets out simple steps you can take to help keep safe online. They also provide you with updates on the latest scams, and enable you to report any suspicious emails or websites directly to them.
The site contains information on types of scams, how to spot them and how to protect yourself.
www.getsafeonline.org (http://www.getsafeonline.org)
Get Safe Online will help you protect yourself against internet threats. The site is sponsored by government and leading businesses working together to provide a free, public service.
The Department for Trade and Industry has a useful leaflet on how to spot scams.
http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/pdf1/dtioftscamsleaflet.pdf
Scotland
http://www.vssdirectory.org.uk/ is the website of Victim Support Scotland
http://www.multikulti.org.uk/agencies/arabic/scotland/24937/ is the website of an Edinburgh based multi cultural victim support agency which offers help in Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and BSL
http://www.cccs.co.uk/ is a charity which offers free debt counselling throughout the UK.
Sultan, Dibblah, Batman and Goz contributed resources to this thread.