New report highlights severe emotional toll of fraud on victims

A new study by Roskilde University, commissioned by the Danish Council for Crime Prevention, examines how prolonged fraud—particularly “contact fraud”—leaves elderly victims with deep psychological scars, including distrust in society and social isolation.

The investigation, based on interviews with 15 fraud victims and two relatives, reveals that the longer the deception lasts and the greater the trust built with the scammer, the more devastating the aftermath. “Victims become deeply mistrustful, lose faith in institutions and even their closest relationships, and ultimately withdraw from society,” said Karo Aaen, the council’s prevention consultant.

Anna Thygesen, 61, fell victim to a scammer posing as her bank’s representative over three days in early 2023. Convinced she was helping secure her account, she shared her credentials—only to later discover her joint and personal accounts emptied. “I trusted him completely. Realizing he was the fraudster made me feel violated in a way that’s hard to recover from,” she told DR.

The report identifies five types of contact fraud, with “security account scams”—where perpetrators impersonate banks or police—rising from 726 reported cases in 2024 to 926 in 2025. Thygesen’s experience aligns with the study’s findings: prolonged engagement amplifies self-blame. “When it’s a quick online scam, you’re annoyed. But over three days, you feel complicit—like you should have known better,” she said.

Thygesen, who runs a crisis communication firm and once hosted DR’s Seduced by a Scammer, admitted the ordeal consumed her: “I was obsessed with how stupid I’d been. That’s what hurts most.” While she coped by writing a book and connecting with other victims, she noted many never recover. “I know people who spiraled into depression, questioning everything. It’s utterly destructive.”

Nationwide, 37,000 Danes reported contact fraud in 2024—a 10,000-case increase from 2023—with average losses of 13,500 kroner ($1,900), though some lost hundreds of thousands. Martin Røtoft Rasmussen’s 80-year-old father, targeted by a cryptocurrency investment scam, lost his entire pension and took a 1-million-krone loan. “He was brainwashed,” Rasmussen said. “When he called me, he wasn’t himself. They’d completely manipulated him.”

The Crime Prevention Council is urging stronger measures against digital fraud, including better victim support—a gap Rasmussen encountered firsthand. “As a relative, there’s almost no help available. My siblings and I had to manage everything alone.”