Blame-the-victim fraud only works on the ill-informed

Shyam 

Your free-thinking, young reader, Annapoorna, is to be applauded. She is a typical example of the millions of aspiring, but ill-informed, persons being cheated in India by racketeers who hide behind corporate structures peddling various forms of  'self-betterment.'  Annapoorna is, however, rare, in that she has had the courage to stand up and complain. Historically, cheats have been able to escape prosecution for extended periods, simply because the majority of their victims (like the majority of all people) find it impossible to admit to the world that they were deceived. Indeed, it is human nature for us to try to justify our previous actions. Once this is understood, it becomes immediately obvious that, in almost all cases, advance fee, corporate frauds have been maliciously designed to prevent their victims from facing reality and complaining. 

The classic tactic of the racketeers behind advance fee, corporate frauds has been to blame their victims. In Europe, one of the most-common examples of this type of cruel swindle has been counterfeit 'estate agencies' offering to find rental accommodation for homeless students. In expensive cities like Paris, it has become almost impossible for young people from the provinces to find somewhere affordable to live whilst they pursue their studies. Vulnerable students who walk into this trap are systematically told that the agency has exclusive access to numerous well-placed appartments, but that they must first register with the agency and pay an upfront fee. Victims are given standard 'registration forms'  to fill in. These ask for personal information. Unfortunately, what the victims don't know is that no exclusive rental accommodation is available. After a brief delay, these fake 'agencies' systematically refuse all their 'clients' by citing spurious reasons based on the personal information which they have obtained by means of a deception. The 'registration forms' always include a clause (in small print) which says that the signatory's registration fee is non-refundable. If students begin to complain, they are systematically told that failure to obtain accommodation was entirely their own fault, and that they should go away and stop wasting more of the agency staff's valuable time.  A variation of this fraud, obliges victims to pay 'lease-arrangement fees' on leases which are then systematically refused for spurious reasons.  

Exactly the same advance fee, blame-the-victim, corporate fraud has been run using fake 'finance companies' advertising 'loans' aimed at vulnerable persons (often students) without any collateral and who are unable to obtain credit with traditional banks and finance companies. Again, victims are obliged to pay upfront registration, and/or loan arrangement,  fees, before being systematically refused credit by the fake 'finance companies'. 'These crooks again cite spurious reasons based on personal information which they have obtained by means of a deception. 

'MLM business opportunity' fraud, although more-complex in its external presentation, is essentially identical. Victims are systematically offered an income opportunity which doesn't actually exist, but which they desperately want to believe is true. However, they are told that they first must sign a contract and invest their own time and money. When they fail to obtain an income, 'MLM' victims are systematically told that since they were Independent Business Owners, failure was entirely their own fault. The fact that 'MLM' fraud victims are invariably deceived by a friend or relative and, in turn, try to deceive their own friends and relatives, makes it even more difficult for them to face reality and complain. 

The provocative de facto agent of the 'Amway' racketeers, Mr. David Steadson,  has recently been banned from the Corporate Frauds Watch Blog for attempting to gain access to ill-informed Indian 'Amway' victims. He has used this Site to try to maintain the illusion that it takes 'time and effort to build an Amway business' and to receive reward from 'Amway'. 

In the adult world of quantifiable reality, no one has ever received a lawful, overall benefit out of the operation of a so-called 'Amway business.' To imply that organizations like 'Amway' have offered a viable 'business opportunity', is a demonstrable lie. 

Annapoorna should also be aware that many victims of fraud are often vulnerable to falling victim to secondary frauds. There exists a particularly vile type of charlatan who specializes in offering to recover the losses of, the victims of fraud (for an upfront fee). 

David Brear (copyright 2011)