Are you aware of what a scam is? You might not know how these criminals use coercive control to your disadvantage. In such cases, it’s easy to fall into despair, but remember, even in the worst situations, you have a choice that can lead to positive action. By following this guide to the end, you’ll have the tools to protect yourself and your neighbors, and you’ll know how to offer support when needed.
The Fuel behind Every Scam : Coercive Control
Coercive control is a pattern of behavior aimed at intimidating or dominating loved ones or neighbors. It is used with various goals, generally to isolate, manipulate, and undermine the victim’s sense of self-worth, independence, and autonomy.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of tactics criminals use to exert coercive control:
- Isolation: Abusers isolate victims from family and friends to gain their trust and control more effectively.
- Monitoring: Abusers monitor all your activities, including online interactions, whereabouts, and communications, sometimes even reading your messages.
- Modus Operandi: Abusers often scam their victims by leveraging emotions, threatening physical harm, or threatening to reveal embarrassing or damaging information.
- Psychological Violence: This is used to enhance the abuser’s control over their victims.
A consequence of these tactics is gaslighting, which involves distorting the victim’s sense of perception, damaging their sense of reality and sanity by denying, trivializing, or distorting their experiences or emotions.
Recognizing coercive control is not simple. It is subtle and affects your psychological well-being, often leading to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even suicide.
The Psychological Reasons Behind Coercive Control
Scammers use coercive control due to their lack of self-esteem and empathy. They feel inadequate in their lives because no one has ever shown them that they have value or importance, and no one has empathized with their problems. Understanding this can help you protect yourself and avoid being scammed.
How to Recognize and Avoid the Impact of Coercive Behavior
Coercive control is the driving force behind scams. It is used to:
- Manipulate: Influence the victim’s thoughts and actions.
- Extract Money or Sensitive Information: Obtain bank account credentials or other valuable data.
By recognizing these behaviors, you can take steps to protect yourself from falling victim to scams.
Recognizing Coercive Behavior: Warning Signs of Scammers
Even though it can be difficult to recognize coercive behavior, the following warning signs may indicate that scammers are using these tactics:
- Pressure to Act Quickly: Scammers pressure you to act quickly because you are less likely to consult with others.
- Isolation: Scammers work to cut off victims from those who do not trust them, similar to tactics used in romantic scams.
- Manipulated Trust: Trust is crucial to scammers. They create a framework that allows them to share their worldview with their victims.
- False Identity: Scammers often present themselves under a false identity to legitimize their actions and questions.
- Control of Resources: Scammers may control the victim’s access to money, food, and resources to coerce compliance.
How to Protect Yourself from Scams
Now that we have analyzed a scam from all sides, it is time to learn how you can protect yourself from falling victim to one.
Coercive control is a pattern of behavior involving the intimidation or domination of loved ones or neighbors. It is typically used to isolate, manipulate, and undermine the victim’s sense of self-worth, independence, and autonomy.
Common Tactics Used by Abusers to Exert Coercive Control
- Isolation: Abusers isolate victims from family and friends to gain their trust more easily.
- Monitoring: Abusers monitor all your activities, including online activities, whereabouts, and communication (sometimes even reading your messages).
- Modus Operandi: Abusers often scam their victims by leveraging emotions, threatening physical harm, or threatening to reveal embarrassing or damaging information.
- Psychological Violence: This is used to enhance the impact the abuser has on their victims.
- Gaslighting: Abusers distort the victim’s sense of perception, damaging their sense of reality and sanity by denying, trivializing, or distorting their experiences or emotions.
Recognizing coercive control is challenging because it is subtle and affects your psychological well-being, often leading to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even suicide.
The Psychological Reasons Behind Coercive Control
Scammers use coercive control due to their lack of self-esteem and empathy. They feel inadequate because no one has shown them that they have value or importance, and no one has empathized with their problems. Understanding this can help you protect yourself and avoid being scammed.
How to Recognize and Avoid the Impact of Coercive Behavior
Coercive control is the fuel of a scam. It is used to:
- Manipulate
- Extract money or sensitive information, such as bank account credentials
Warning Signs of Coercive Behavior
Even though it can be difficult to recognize coercive behavior, the following warning signs may indicate that scammers are using these tactics:
- Pressure to act quickly: Scammers pressure you to act quickly because you are less likely to consult with others.
- Isolation: Scammers work to cut off victims from those who do not trust them, similar to tactics used in romantic scams.
- Manipulated Trust: Trust is crucial to scammers. They create a framework that allows them to share their worldview with their victims.
- False Identity: Scammers often present themselves under a false identity to legitimize their actions and questions.
- Control of Resources: Scammers may control the victim’s access to money, food, and resources to coerce compliance.
How to Protect Yourself from Scams
Now that we have analyzed a scam from all sides, it is time to learn how you can protect yourself from falling victim to one.
7 Tips to Reduce or Avoid Being Scammed
- Stay Informed: Learn more about scam tactics, warning signs, and stay informed about new scam types.
- Be Cautious Online: Never share personal information.
- Control Your Actions: Avoid acting under pressure, reflect on the consequences, and verify sources online.
- Trust Your Network: Rely on family and friends to help you make good decisions.
- Guard Your Resources: Be cautious of anyone asking for access to your resources.
- Report Suspicions: If you think you are being scammed, report it to the appropriate authority or seek help from professional organizations that support scam victims.
- Protect Your Data: Avoid sharing personal data online. Even a picture or a food preference can be used to contact you by impersonating a useful service.
Additional Resources
Before leaving this page, please note that Action Fraud is an organization specialized in scam prevention and support for victims.