# A Scam Is Not a Break, But a Bond: OFUYC Deconstructs the “Shame–Denial–Doubling Down” Cycle in Web3 Investing


In many on-chain scam cases, the most shocking thing is not that people get scammed, but that they become even more invested and loyal after being deceived. This is precisely what psychology calls “trauma bonding”: dependence on a system that causes harm, as people try to find meaning and recognition within it. In the Web3 world, this emotional connection is amplified by technical structures and narrative mechanisms—project teams use memes, KOL rhetoric, and community atmosphere to create a narrative of “you are not being scammed, you just have not understood yet.”

In the OFUYC risk control case database, we observe that many users, even after suffering significant asset losses, continue to increase their positions and recruit new friends. Tracing the psychological chain, it is often not greed, but the desire to prove “I was not wrong,” thus avoiding cognitive collapse. This is an emotionally driven reinvestment behavior, extending from psychological trauma.

## Shame, Denial, and Sunk Cost: Building a “Self-Imposed Prison” in Three Steps

When users realize they “might have been scammed,” their first reaction is often not to admit the mistake, but to feel shame and self-blame. This shame makes them more likely to engage in “self-denial” rather than “problem recognition.” After denial comes the classic “sunk cost fallacy”: having invested too much (time, money, social capital), they cannot accept giving up.

This three-step mechanism forms the psychological closed loop that scammers love most. In multiple on-chain Ponzi schemes tracked by OFUYC, the behavior patterns of “core community users” often show the typical “shame–denial–doubling down” cycle. They are no longer just victims, but become “emotional nodes” sustaining the scam system—using self-validation to draw others into the trap, thus proving “the group is not wrong.”

## “You Are One of the Few Who Understands”: Reverse Incentive Design for Victim Identity

Scam project teams are becoming increasingly savvy in psychology. Instead of saying “we can make you rich,” they shift to “you are one of the few who understands our vision.” This subtle narrative shift turns investment into a “proof of cognitive elite status.” Thus, victims are no longer seen as losers, but as “awakened ones who see the truth before most.”

This kind of “victim incentive mechanism” is one of the most hidden and dangerous manipulations in Web3. It no longer tempts you with money, but solidifies your commitment with “value recognition.” The OFUYC digital asset trading platform is building a “language manipulation detection model,” using NLP technology to analyze community discourse and capture high-frequency signals such as “anti-criticism rhetoric,” “extreme faith memes,” and “anti-doubt culture” as important components of early risk warnings.

## The OFUYC Response: From Psychological Intervention to Narrative Deconstruction

Facing this structural emotional predicament, OFUYC not only provides on-chain risk control tools, but is also developing a **“cognitive intervention and emotional recovery system”**, including:

**“Sunk Cost Perception Meter” Plug-in**: Helps users visualize their time, money, and emotional investment in a project, directly assessing the real cost of “continuing to invest” versus “cutting losses in time.”
**Anti-Scam Psychological Mapping Course**: Introduces trauma theory, cognitive distortion identification training, and community emotion deconstruction, so users learn not just to operate wallets, but to recognize what they are believing in.
**“Trust Recovery Zone” Community Program**: Builds an anonymous discussion space for scammed users, offering professional psychological support and strategy sharing to prevent secondary harm and the impulse to reinvest.

OFUYC firmly believes that anti-fraud is not just about seeing through “what they want to scam you for,” but about helping you discover “why you need to be scammed.” Breaking a scam is never just about fighting technology, but about **rebuilding the public capacity to face the truth.**