Using Peer Support to Aid In Scam Victimization Recovery

Background and Purpose: Scams are now the most common form of organized crime globally, perpetrated by highly industrialized criminal enterprises. Low cost and universally available artificial intelligence tools have acted as a force multiplier for the scam industry, which stole an estimated $81.5 billion from older Americans in 2024 (Federal Trade Commission, 2025). While these financial costs are extreme and rising every year, they are dwarfed by the severe psychological and social consequences reported by victims: shame, loss of self-efficacy, humiliation, self-blame, diminished trust, social withdrawal, sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidal ideation (Button, Lewis, & Tapley, 2014; Herrera, 2025; Cole, 2024). Fightcybercrime.org, a national nonprofit organization, offers virtual 10-week expert facilitated peer support groups for individuals affected by romance and cryptocurrency investment scams. Treatment goals include emotional stabilization to regulate trauma responses, cognitive reframing to challenge self-blame and distorted beliefs, scam psychoeducation to understand manipulation tactics, social connection to rebuild trust in relationships, and identity reconstruction to restore dignity and self-efficacy. The purpose of this research is to understand support group participants’ scam experiences and evaluate the impact of peer support on mental health outcomes.

Methods: We surveyed peer support group participants (N=216), 60% of whom were age 60+, at three time points: intake, immediately following the 10-week program, and 6-months post-program completion. In addition to information about the scam and victimization experience, participants responded to questions about use of AI in the scam, rates of re-victimization, and their emotional and social well-being before and after the peer support group.

Results: Nearly one third of participants indicated that they suspected that AI was used in the scam they experienced, and in a separate survey (N=88), 50% reported feeling unsafe using AI tools after their victimization. The median amount stolen per participant was $130,000. Engaging in the virtual support group had a clinically significant impact on mental health outcomes. Feelings of shame significantly decreased from baseline (mean=5.1 out of 6) to post completion (mean=3.9) and remained low six months later (mean=3.9). Participants’ knowledge of scams and feeling connected to a trusted support network increased significantly from baseline to follow-up (p<.01). At 6-months follow-up, 91% of participants reported that they did not respond to a new scam.

Conclusions and Implications: Results suggest that AI is being weaponized to target and steal from older adults, reducing trust in these technologies. Results also indicate that expert-facilitated peer support groups offer a safe and supportive environment to process the trauma of victimization, and that psychoeducation strengthens scam awareness and resilience. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms of these effects, the number of sessions needed to sustain emotional recovery, and whether treatment reduces the risk of revictimization among older victims with cognitive impairment.