And they do target certain groups based those factors. Although fraud victims are not alone, they often suffer their losses alone and in silence. Shame, guilt, embarrassment, and disbelief are among the reasons that only an estimated 15 percent of the nation's fraud victims report their crimes to law enforcement. Other reasons include victims' doubt about their own judgment, a sense of betrayal, and fears about how their family members, friends, and business associates will react. Some victims feel their losses are not large enough to report, do not want to get involved, think law enforcement agencies will not take the crime seriously, or think nothing will result from reporting the crime.
Many victims feel they have only themselves to blame.
In reality, calculating, skilled perpetrators are to blame for these criminal acts. Like their victims, fraud criminals vary educationally, socially, geographically, and financially. Most con artists make a career of their criminal activities. Some even join professional organizations to legitimize their schemes and project a respectable front. The weapon of choice for fraud criminals is not a gun or a knife.