This Official SCARS Institute™ Website is a Tribute to those Scam Victims Who Lost So Much of Themselves and Some Lost Even Their Lives
Remembering: Renee, Boyati, Diane, Iris, and so many more!

Welcome to the
SCARS Institute’s
Scam Survivor Stories
Sharing your story as a scam victim is a powerful step toward healing and reclaiming your voice. It helps you process and validate your experience, reducing feelings of shame and isolation. By speaking openly, you also educate others, increasing awareness and preventing future victimization. Your courage to share can inspire fellow survivors to seek help, fostering a supportive community that promotes recovery, resilience, and empowerment.
Each story has been anonymized to protect the survivor’s identity.
How To Write Your Story:
Your story journey has five essential parts:
- Before the Scam:
- Describe who you were and what your life was like.
- Include any significant events or traumas that may have left you vulnerable, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, illness, or job loss.
- Reflect on what made you open and susceptible to the scammer.
- The Beginning:
- Talk about meeting the scammer and your early interactions.
- Share the initial positive experiences and emotions that made the connection feel genuine and meaningful.
- The Discovery:
- Explain how you came to realize it was a scam.
- Describe your emotional reactions and the immediate steps you took once you uncovered the truth.
- Early Recovery (Months 0 to 6):
- Detail the intense feelings and difficult challenges you faced after discovering the scam.
- Include how you managed daily life, coped emotionally, and what support you sought.
- Mention how and to whom you reported the crime, and the outcomes of those actions.
- Your Recovery Phase:
- Share how you moved beyond despair and sadness toward regaining control and rebuilding your life.
- Reflect on moments of resilience, strength, and positive growth.
Of course, you can structure your story as you prefer, but using these points may help clarify your experiences and make your narrative flow naturally.
Once you have your first draft, we can help you refine your story further.
Additional Tips:
- Don’t feel obligated to thoroughly explain the entire recovery process; focus on what genuinely matters to you.
- Remember, you are writing for other victims and their families—offer hope by showing how you overcame adversity.
- Avoid dwelling on negativity. If you still feel very negative, consider waiting until you’re emotionally ready to tell your story.
- Initially, focus on writing your thoughts freely without worrying about style. You can refine and edit afterward.
- Highlight individuals who supported you, as well as those who did not.
- Consider including advice for new victims, such as the importance of education about scams, releasing anger, and overcoming sadness.
- Reflect on how you’ve grown and changed, both immediately after the scam and in the longer term.
- Express your emotions openly; honesty will resonate with readers.
- Create a clear timeline to help keep your story coherent.
Telling your story can be challenging, as it may stir difficult memories initially, but you’ll likely find it becomes easier and more empowering as you continue.
Share Your Story Here
Take this terrible thing and weave it into the tapestry of your story!
It is part of you, and you will become a better person!
It is part of you, and you will become a better person!
– Lic. Vianey Gonzalez
Being able to tell your story is where you begin in your recovery journey!
– Debby Montgomery Johnson
Telling your story is the first step in releasing the pain, guilt, and shame, so that you can heal.
– Janina Morcinek

Listen to a new free SCARS Institute Audiobook, ‘Emily’s Story’
This is the story of a romance scam victim and her experience. This story is being shared so that other victims may both understand that they are not alone, but also understand that getting help can save their life. You will understand why as the story unfolds.
This is a fictionalization of a real story. The names have been changed to protect those involved. This is a one hour audiobook to help scam victims to better understand the very real dangers of these crimes.
Story Written by Tim McGuinness, Ph.D., SCARS Institute Managing Director based on a True Story.
Scam Survivor Stories
All Stories Are From Real Survivors
Their Names Have Been Removed For Their Privacy & Security!
Short Stories
Short Insights About Scams, Victimhood, Survival, and Recovery
Written by Survivors
Hover or Point at Story to Pause
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Read Them All Here

Journaling Tip: Those 'Story-Worthy' Moments
Each day, write down the most story-worthy thing that happened! Good or bad!
This helps you to 'reframe' your story into something that is easier to accept.

Scam Survivor Video Stories
All Stories Are From Real Survivors
These have been recorded by the Survivors themselves or through interviews
