A Faceless Victim: The Psychological Profile and Legal Vulnerability of Those Whose Cards Were Stolen (A Victim's Perspective)

[Professor]

Introduction: Digital Robbery Without Violence
When it comes to card theft, the focus is almost always on the criminal: their methods, income, and technical sophistication. The victim, meanwhile, remains in the shadows — an anonymous statistic on a bank report. Meanwhile, for a person, the theft of money from a card is a deeply personal trauma, combining a sense of violation of personal boundaries, financial loss, and a confrontation with the cold, inhuman bureaucracy of the system. This is a story not only about money, but also about trust, fear, and helplessness.

Chapter 1: Psychological Profile of the Victim: Shock, Shame, and Paranoia​

The reaction to theft is rarely limited to annoyance. It's a multilayered psychological trauma.

• Phase One: Denial and Confusion. A text message from the bank about a suspicious transaction is often perceived as a mistake. "That can't be true, I have the card." The person checks the balance, and the numbers confirm the worst. Shock sets in — the feeling that the virtual intrusion has become a physical blow.
• Phase Two: Rage and a sense of personal violation. The realization that someone anonymous and invisible has gained access to your most intimate data — the tool of daily survival. A sense of desecration arises, as if thieves had broken into your home, but instead of stealing your belongings, they had copied your thoughts. This is anger mixed with helplessness: there is no one to take revenge on, there is no face.
• Phase Three: Shame and self-blame. "It's my own fault," "I must have found my PIN somewhere," "I clicked on the wrong link." The victim begins to reflect, looking for their own mistakes. Society exacerbates this feeling, considering carding a problem only for the careless and "tech-illiterate." Shame prevents many from speaking openly about the incident, creating a vacuum of support.
• Phase Four: Chronic anxiety and paranoia. Even after the money is returned, a scar remains. Every new text message from the bank triggers panic. The person begins to fear online payments, views payment terminals with suspicion, and deletes apps. Digital agoraphobia — a fear of open digital space — develops. Trust in technology, banks, and even people (could it be that cashier at the cafe using a skimmer?) is permanently undermined.

Chapter 2: Legal Desert: "Your Money, Your Problem"​

This is where the hardest part begins. The victim is confronted not with protection, but with a system in which they are the potential culprit.

1. Blocking and reporting procedure: You need to immediately decide whether to call the bank, block the card, run to a branch, or file a complaint about the transaction. This is difficult under stress. Banks often assume the client is at fault : "You probably gave out the data," "Your password is too simple."
2. A bank investigation is a black box. The investigation process is a closely guarded secret. The client has no visibility into what's going on. A refund may be denied, citing "violation of card usage rules" (clause 2.1.4 of the standard agreement). Proving otherwise is incredibly difficult. The bank is both a party to the dispute and the judge.
3. The police: a faceless apparatus. Filing a police report often becomes a formality. The local police officer sees the theft of $500 as a routine, almost hopeless episode in a series of similar cases. The victim is asked for a mountain of bank statements and certificates. The case is assigned a number, and it often sits for months without any action. The victim's sense of legal nihilism intensifies: the system fails to protect them.
4. The "unauthorized transaction" problem: The bank will only refund money if it classifies the transaction as "unauthorized ," meaning it was made without the client's consent and without their fault. If they find the slightest hint of "negligence" (such as a one-time password from an SMS message being on a phone infected with a Trojan), they may deny the refund. The burden of proof falls on the victim.

Chapter 3: Categories of Vulnerability: Who Suffered the Most?​

• Elderly people: For them, it's not just theft; it's a complete collapse of their worldview. They often struggle to navigate applications or fill out online applications. They're easily accused of "carelessness." Losing even a small amount can be catastrophic, especially if it's a pension.
• Low-income people ("last money"): The theft of $100 when you have $120 in your account isn't an incident, it's a disaster . There's no financial cushion. Waiting for the bank's decision (up to 30-60 days) is a time of survival on the brink.
• Victims of mass data breaches: The most helpless. They could have done everything right, but their data was stolen from a store, a hospital, an airline. They are random targets in a game they were unaware of.
• Relatives of Droppers/Carders: A Hidden Category. When a teenage son involved in the scheme is arrested, the family suffers a triple blow: the shock of the crime, financial losses (seized equipment, potential lawsuits), social stigma, and the need to pay for a lawyer.

Chapter 4: Secondary Victimization: When the System Finishes You Off​

This is a process where the victim, when seeking help, is faced with indifference, suspicion and bureaucracy, which aggravates the trauma.

• Cold tone of bank employees: Standard, emotionless phrases according to a script.
• Endless demands for certificates: You need to not only report the theft, but also provide documentary proof that you are not a fraudster trying to defraud the bank.
• Accusatory bias in the police: Questions like "Are you sure you didn't tell anyone your PIN?" and "Maybe you took it yourself?" make you feel like a criminal.
• Public opinion: "You're the fool." Lack of empathy and stigma.

Conclusion: How to restore a victim's face?​

The situation isn't hopeless. Legislation is changing, and financial literacy is growing. But the key changes need to be in approach:

1. A paradigm shift in banks: Shifting from a policy of "the client is a potential fraudster" to one of "the client is our ally in the fight against fraud." Clear, simple instructions, human support, and transparent investigations.
2. Law enforcement specializes in: creating accessible digital duty stations for citizens, where screenshots, logs, and transaction numbers can be easily uploaded. Providing case progress updates through government services.
3. Psychological and legal support: Introducing primary assistance programs for cybercrime victims in banks and social services. Understanding that this is a trauma that requires not only financial but also psychological restoration of trust.
4. Social decriminalization of the victim: Ending the accusatory narrative. Card theft is not a shameful thing, but a misfortune that can happen to anyone, like car theft or wallet snatching.

Bottom line: A carding victim isn't just an abstract figure in a report. They're a living person experiencing a mini-crisis: a loss of control, security, and faith in justice. Recognizing this is the first step toward building a system that protects not only money but also the dignity of those who suffer in this undeclared digital war. As long as the victim remains "faceless," carders will enjoy impunity, because their crime lacks a human dimension. Restoring the victim's identity means making the crime personal again, and therefore intolerable.