It is the last day of the National Consumer Fraud Week in
Australia (15-19.5.2017) and I am researching the concept of #empowerment for
my new standalone book Love on the Line
2: How to empower yourself after surviving the trauma of fraud. (The book
will be out at the beginning of 2018 through Xlibris). I have been reading the
news articles about the new 2016 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
report on scamming which states that there has been a 47% increase in reporting
fraud in Australia. The combined report from the ACCC and the Australian
Cybercrime Online Reporting Network also states that Australians lost the whobbling
$200 million to Online fraud last year, including romance scams and financial
fraud. What news! And what can we say about this report that would be
constructive in helping the recovery of the fraud victims, especially for the
victims of romance scams.
First of all, the rise of the reporting can show us that
people are becoming more aware of the scammers on the social networks. That
might be positive but it can also be the same kind of hike as is seen in
Scandinavia with rape reporting. It is about the environment in which we live
in. In Scandinavia, the definition of rape is much more severe than in other
countries, like in Russia, for example, where there is not, any more, any
concept of rape in the marriage by law. In Scandinavia, there is also a more open
debate on the issue of rape, which allows the victims to feel safe in reporting
the crime. However, that is not the case with the scamming victims, especially
those who would like to talk about it on social media.
In Australia, it seem that at least the reporting and
anonymous victims are more aware and safer in their reporting of fraud. That is
not to say that they feel any safer at speaking out about scamming, especially
romance scams, as the victim blaming is so rampant on both the social media and
amongst the everyday talk about the issue. It is in the analogy with the rape
culture where the victims feel ostracised and the scammers feel virtuous. So,
who is being empowered, the victims of crime or the fraudsters who, in this world,
are so free to commit their discretions?
My understanding about empowerment comes from my feminist
background. The whole concept is fairly new because as a young feminist we did
not speak about empowerment but about emancipation. In my own language, which
is Finnish, I have only heard the translation to the world in the last three
years. And in the other language, Swedish, which I also speak, my understanding
of the translation has not yet kicked in either. So, how can you be something,
you have no real worlds for? But it does have to do with power, right? And
whose is the power?
Secondly, the report shows quite clearly, that the power
between the fraudsters and the victims and the international crime syndicates
and the law, still seems to be on the side of the criminal, despite a lot of
new information and a lot of effort from the police. And I am lucky to be a member
of the most supporting groups, both Online and in my State of Queensland in
Australia.
What we as victims of trauma are so desperately seeking is
recovery and after that empowerment. Because, when one has been a survivor or
fraud, especially romance scams, it will never leave him/her and will make the
world seem less safe. It sort of takes you out of the cocoon of being right
about everything and makes you humble in the face of the enormity and the
complexity of the crime and the scamming scene. What we need is more information,
more compassion and more awareness.
Luckily, there are methods that will help the person suffering
from the trauma. Self-help methods or Online methods, like www.romancescamsnow.com where you can
find a lot of information. And in the wait of my new book, there is also my current
book, Love on the Line. How to recover
from romance scams gracefully and without victimisation. And from my website you can also start
gathering more information for empowerment.
My mission is not to let the fraudsters win the race to
empowerment but learn to shift the power to myself and to the others who have
gone through a traumatic experience like mine. It can be anything. Luckily, at
the same time as the social media is presenting the fraudsters more
opportunities, it is also presenting the survivors opportunities for
resistance. It is the matter of acting.
Empowerment means the will to change, to shift
and to start the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in
controlling one's life and claiming one's rights. So, let’s act on it, shall we!Just look at this ACCC report to be convinced.
