Scams Affect Your Health & Wellbeing & It’s Devastating

Unless you have been a victim yourself or know someone who has, you’ve probably never considered how life-changing fraud and scams can be. The first thing that comes to mind when you talk about this kind of criminal activity is that money has been stolen from someone. Of course, any amount of money taken can leave a person financially devastated. But have you stopped to consider how a scam could affect both the physical and mental health of you and the ones you love? If not, then our blog will open your eyes to the severity of the damage that can be done by telephone criminals.

How scams affect your health, mentally & emotionally

Most people in the aftermath of being scammed feel shame. This is brought on by thoughts such as ‘I should have known’, ‘I feel so stupid’ ‘Why am I so trusting?’ or ‘How did let this happen?’ Victims see themselves as the ones at fault, rather than placing that blame firmly on the shoulders of the criminals themselves.

There has been a lot of research into how scams can affect your health and wellbeing. Results often highlight that scams and fraud undermine self-confidence and confidence in other people. A 2020 study at Bournemouth University revealed that it isn’t just those who have fallen victim to a scam that suffers.

• 48% of people reported they felt significantly unhappy having answered a nuisance or potential scam call.
• 44% of people reported that they felt anxious about receiving a call in case it was a scam.
• 38% of people reported that they felt intimidated by unknown telephone callers.

Image by Digging deeper

Research conducted on behalf of Which? uncovered that those who had fallen victim to a scam experienced lower life satisfaction in comparison to those who had been physically threatened or targeted on the street.

Of course, some people can cope with, and overcome these feelings of unhappiness and stress, whereas others will have a more traumatic response with symptoms that need medical intervention. A survey conducted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority  showed that the consequences of fraud and scams manifested as,

• Severe anxiety
• Sleep disorders
• Depression
• PTSD

Christine Kiefer the senior director at FINRA explains,

“What’s different with fraud victims, is that their constellation of symptoms includes negative thoughts about themselves. And so they could be thinking, are they not smart? Is there something wrong with their cognitive abilities, their ability to judge others?” 

It’s these negative thoughts, the doubting of yourself and your abilities that can quickly spiral into poor mental health that consequently needs treatment and support.

How scams affect your health, physically

In this day and age, we are becoming far more aware of how poor mental health can affect your physical health. And this is no different when it comes to being targeted by scammers and fraudsters. The anxiety, low self-esteem, poor sleep hygiene, depression and PTSD brought on by being scammed can cause,

• Low or high blood pressure
• Weight loss
• Weight gain
• Joint pain
• Muscle pain
• Migraines & headaches
• Fatigue

Mental and physical symptoms combined can affect how you live day-to-day, especially when they are debilitating in nature.

Recovering from a scam or fraud

Moving on from the traumatic experience of being scammed can be a long and hard process. Nofziger from the American non-profit company AARP believes that the recovery process after a scam is likened to that of grief.

“Tomorrow, you might feel a little bit better than today, but you are not going to necessarily forget about what happened to you.”

The most important thing is that you talk about your experience with either someone you trust or a professional to unburden some of the self-blame. You don’t have to suffer alone and there are lots of organisations that you can turn to for emotional and mental health help and support.

• Victim Support call free on 0808 1689 111
• Samaritans, call free on 116 123
• Age UK, call free on 0800 678 1602
• Mind, call 0300 123 3393
• Text ‘SHOUT’ for free to 85258
• Visit your GP
• NHS online or call 111 (urgent but not an emergency)
• 24-hour NHS mental health advice in your area

Always remember that your mental health and wellbeing are just as important as your physical health. So if you find yourself a victim of telephone crime or any crime, please don’t suffer in silence. You are not alone, and you are not wasting anyone’s time by seeking help.

If you or someone around you is anxious about answering the phone, (just in case it’s a scammer) Phonely’s CallGuard with its anti-fraud introduction might give you the peace of mind you’ve been looking for.