NO victim

Article by  ETHAN TREX Charles Ponzi What is a Ponzi scheme? And why does it bear this name? First, you need to know a little bit about its namesake, Charles Ponzi. Anyone can work a simple swindle, but you have to be a special kind of con man to have your name become synonymous with "fraud."  Ponzi pulled it off, though. After arriving in the U.S. from Italy in 1903, Ponzi knocked around in a variety of unskilled jobs that usually ended when he got into trouble for theft or cheating customers. A few years later, he moved to Canada, where he spent a hitch in prison for passing a forged check. When he eventually drifted back down to the U.S., he needed a way to make some quick cash. Making Money via Mail Ponzi eventually found his way to get rich quick using a vagary of the postal system. At the time, it was common for letters abroad to include an international reply coupon "“ a voucher that could be exchanged for minimum postage back to the country fro...

Major fraud cases grab the headlines for a few days or weeks, then forgotten until the next one comes along. We never have to wait long. Media typically focuses on following the money, the colorful perpetrator and occasionally on the victims. Because no violence is used, there is some sort of collusion, and sometimes insurance, fraud appears to be a victimless crime. On the contrary, fraud victims are often devastated by their loses, blamed for their perceived collusion, secrecy, greed, lack of foresight, gullibility, stupidity and so on. Is that why is there so little support for fraud victims from the mental health community? Google help for victims of fraud and you will find various resources from police forces, governments, lawyers, accountants, and third parties who will help you navigate the legal system. Google psychological help for fraud victims and you get pretty much the same results but more along the lines of how to prevent people from falling for scams. Missing from...

Yuriko Nakao / Reuters A researcher reflects on conversations with nearly 50 convicted executives about why they did what they did. EUGENE SOLTES Two leading executive headhunters once wrote a book called  Lessons From the Top: The Search for America’s Best Business Leaders  that celebrated 50 titans of industry. Readers were encouraged “to learn from and pattern themselves” after the leadership qualities displayed by these executives. Yet within a few years of the book’s 1999 publication, three of those 50 were convicted of white-collar crimes and headed to prison, and three more faced tens of millions of dollars in fines for illicit activity. It was an extraordinary rate of failure for executives once deemed the “very best—and most successful—business leaders in America.” I’ve  spent much of the last seven years investigating  why so many respected executives engage in white-collar crime. Why is it that fraud, embezzlement, bribery, and insider tradi...

by  Herb Weisbaum   Identity theft can be more than a hassle — replacing credit cards, closing bank accounts, or changing passwords. But for some victims, it can be a life-altering experience that also causes serious emotional problems and can even drive some to consider suicide. “Some victims get very depressed. They feel shame and embarrassment. They feel extremely vulnerable,” Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, told NBC News. “There are some really, really strong emotions that go along with this crime.” For its 10th annual  Identity Theft Aftermath report , ITRC surveyed 176 victims across the country to gauge the long-term impact of having their identity stolen. The top three financial impacts of identity theft were not being able get credit cards (38 percent), being denied a loan (34 percent) and being in debt as a result of the crime (28 percent). Physical and emotional consequences included stress, ...

We live in a society where everyone speaks about victims of violent crime, but no one pays attention to the victims of economic crime, and to the challenges they experience.  Victims of financial crime suffer from financial, emotional harm, and even medical problems relating to victimization. Every year, Million of people in the United States become victims of fraud crimes. Your trust in your own judgment and your trust in others is often shattered. You may feel a sense of betrayal, especially if the perpetrator is someone you know. You may have hesitated to tell family members, friends, or colleagues about your victimization for fear of criticism. If they then were exploited by the same fraud, you might feel guilty and suffer a sense of isolation. Fraud crimes can destroy financial security and someone's life in general. Becoming a victim of financial crime can be very dangeros . For some victims, it can be a life-altering experience that also causes serious emotio...