It’s not just about the money, even if it is to the scammers.

Yes, scams cost people money.  Online scams are estimated to cost people over $110 billion dollars a year.  That’s a lot of money by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not the whole story.  Blackmail scams for example, leave people in a perpetual state of fear.  People have taken their own lives because of it.  Romance scams steal a person’s self worth and trust in others.  People have ended up homeless.  They’ve even been jailed after cashing a fake cheque sent to them by the scammer.  Being scammed can lead to people being hit with another scam, called a recovery scam.  Just as they have no more to give, the scammer comes back as another person claiming they can get their money back for a fee.  Where do they go for this money they don’t have?  Sell the car?  Sell the house?  Steal from family members?  Go to a loan shark?  It’s not just money a person loses.  They can lose everything, including their life.