The Healing Power of Peer Support: Why Fraud Victims Need Each Other
 

By Christine Kieffer, FINRA Investor Education Foundation & Ally Armeson, FightCybercrime

April 2026

When financial fraud strikes, the damage extends far beyond dollars lost. FINRA Foundation research shows that two-thirds of fraud victims experience serious social-emotional consequences, including anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption. Within the first year after a scam, victims report escalating feelings of depression, exhaustion, anger, shame, and pervasive distrust. This is where peer support becomes essential.

As adult protective services (APS) professionals, you understand how vulnerability intersects with isolation. Fraud victims carry not only financial loss but emotional wounds, such as betrayed trust, self-blame, and fear of judgment. Peer support groups offer something clinical interventions alone cannot — the transformative power of being truly understood by someone who has walked the same path.

Breaking Through Shame and Silence

Nearly half of fraud victims blame themselves, reflecting how deeply scammers' manipulation takes root. This shame silences survivors, allowing scammers to win twice — once through fraud and again through the isolation that prevents recovery.

Peer support interrupts this cycle. In a room full of others who understand, no one asks "How could you fall for that?" because they know. FightCybercrime's work with romance scam victims documents the reality that grief, guilt, and rage accompany financial loss, yet traditional recovery services largely ignore these emotions. Peer support validates harmed individuals and communicates a powerful truth: Criminals design schemes to manipulate. This is not about weakness; it's about exploitation.

The Vulnerability Window

The scam is only the beginning. FightCybercrime found that nearly half of peer support participants had interactions with two or more cybercriminals before recovery. Scammers deliberately target those already victimized, capitalizing on emotional distress, shame, and desperation. Without intervention, cascading losses compound the trauma, and the vulnerability window remains open. This is why trauma-informed peer support is so important and should be seen as a protective intervention. 

Peer support helps close this window by addressing the psychological conditions that made the individual a target. Individuals who feel seen, safe, and understood are less vulnerable than those with no community to lean on for emotional support. Effective peer support combines mental health support with actionable guidance: reporting fraud, securing accounts, spotting red flags, and addressing practical needs like financial insecurity and identity theft recovery.

The outcomes are remarkable. Over 90% of FightCybercrime's Romance Scam Recovery Group participants avoided scams following the program. Participants reported feeling more capable of recognizing scams and, critically, feeling less shame. This reduction in shame cascades beyond the individual. Less shame leads to increased reporting, generating actionable intelligence that helps law enforcement disrupt fraud networks.

From Isolation to Belonging

Fraud scams isolate by design. Peer support directly counters this by restoring belonging. When survivors see others further along — people paying off debt, reconnecting with loved ones, regaining confidence — hope becomes contagious.

When victims move from isolation to connection, their language shifts. They transition from shame to safety, from emotional manipulation to awareness, from loss of control to agency. The ripple effects extend outward as survivors rebuild self-trust and reclaim lost parts of their lives. Victims who once needed urgent support become survivors who are more stable and resilient. Their dependency on crisis services decreases and their vulnerability to future exploitation narrows. Recovery isn't simply a response to fraud. It's a powerful tool to prevent fraud from happening again in the future.

Your Role as APS Professionals

Many survivors find support because a professional recognized their need and pointed them toward assistance. A referral to a recovery support group can be the difference between a victim who begins rebuilding their life and one who retreats into isolation.

When you first speak with a fraud victim, acknowledge the emotional reality they're facing and assume trauma may be present. Normalize their hesitation as a direct result of a crime engineered to produce shame. Create a safe space, provide a path forward, and connect them to specialized support.

Keep the door open because the first conversation will likely not be the one that lands. Victims who initially resist support may return if they believe a trusted professional is there waiting without judgment.

Remind victims that speaking their truth is an act of courage and peer support is a critical component of recovery. Every survivor who completes a structured recovery program is one fewer person who gets pushed into exploitation. Fraud victims deserve community, understanding, and the knowledge that they are not alone.

Who We Are

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. FINRA regulates one critical part of the securities industry — member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. The mission of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation is to empower Americans with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for financial success throughout life. Through a combination of research and educational programming, the FINRA Foundation helps Americans build financial stability, invest for life goals, and guard against fraud and financial exploitation. For fraud fighter resources and more information on assisting victims of financial fraud and scams, visit finrafoundation.org/fraudfighter.

FightCybercrime is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to meet the challenges facing those impacted by cybercrime. FightCybercrime fosters collaboration, develops resources, and provides training while working with law enforcement and consumer protection ecosystems to ensure those affected by cybercrime are empowered to recognize, report, and recover from scams and online fraud. FightCybercrime’s free, virtual Recovery Groups are available as a referral resource for APS professionals on fightcybercrime.org. The site also offers a library of free prevention and recovery resources that are updated regularly. 

 

The APS Blog is updated regularly with posts from contributing authors and new publications from the APS TARC.

How did we do? Take our quick customer satisfaction survey to give us feedback.