BEE-long: Fraud, Interrupted.
An empowering and evidence-based story by Dr Jamm
Fraud is not a personal failure. It is organized violence.
BEE-long reframes financial fraud victimization away from shame and blame toward evidence-based systemic understanding. Through the story of a community learning to protect itself, we have a goal to build a hive-like protection network where personal experiences become collective resources and knowledge.
This six-page comic uses plain language and therapeutic structure and process to honour the intelligence and resilience of people targeted by fraudsters.
Share a story. Open a mind. Change the world!
More content coming soon...
About Dr. Jessica Motherwell McFarlane
“Dr Jamm”
Counsellor, Private Practice
Offering counselling support online and face-to-face.
Professional Background
Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology
Instructional Excellence Award recipient (Justice Institute of British Columbia, 2016)
Specialist in Reading and Writing Literacy Support for Neurodivergent People (all ages)
Professional Educator, Speaker, and Researcher in Decolonization, Anti-Oppression, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice — delivering workshops and keynotes across sectors
Director, Life Outside the Box: Creating small comics to tell BIG stories
A Justice Institute of British Columbia initiative
The BEE-long Project
Dr Jamm’s therapeutic expertise and commitment to not blaming-the-victim inform every frame of BEE-long: Fraud, Interrupted. This comic emerges from her belief that fraud is not a personal failure but organized violence—and that survivors deserve systemic understanding, not shame.
Project Goals:
- Destigmatize fraud victimization through plain-language, therapeutically-informed storytelling
- Grow connected, caring communities one small group at a time
- Build a hive-based protection network where personal experiences become collective resources
Contact & More Information
Find me on Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/jessica-motherwell-mcfarlane-north-vancouver-bc/1117844
Instagram: @drjamm
References for Bee-long: Fraud, Interrupted comic
Page 2. Morgan (2021) — the 14% reporting rate
Morgan, R. E. (2021, April). Financial fraud in the United States, 2017 (Report No. NCJ 255817). Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/ffus17.pdf
Page 2. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (2025) — Canadian loss estimates
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. (2025). CAFC 2024 annual statistical report. Royal Canadian Mounted Police / Ontario Provincial Police / Competition Bureau Canada. https://open.canada.ca/data/dataset/69c68f22-8a2a-43d1-8f4e-4017e3ffebba
3. OBSI (2024) — banks bear fraud losses, p. 4
Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments. (2024, September 11). Response to Finance Canada consultation on strengthening the financial sector. https://www.obsi.ca/media/dqdfevc2/obsi-response-to-finance-canada-consultation-on-strengthening-financial-sector-september-2024_en.pdf
4. Cazanis et al. (2025) — “Black Hole of Blame,” p. 11
Cazanis, A., Gould, K., & Carminati, J. (2025). “Falling into a black hole”: A qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of cyberscam victim-survivors and their social support networks. Victims & Offenders.https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2025.2481267
Acknowledgements and Gratitude
In my academic discipline it is essential to acknowledge everyone who has contributed to a project or paper. So, with that in mind, I am deeply grateful for the following gifted people’s help:
- Rob Clough for his patient, generous, and excellent professional editorial help at every stage in the making of this comic.
- Vanessa Davis for her kind mentorship, contributing to the design of one of my key characters, and teaching me about the importance of “respecting my line.”
- Chelsea Bell Eady for her digital clean up and speech bubble composition after I scanned the hand-drawn originals. Her final touches made my pages sing!
- Emmet Moon for suggesting the clever hexagonal design of my title page.
- Carly Shooster for giving me advice on how to improve the watercolours on the title page. Her advice arrived exactly on the day I needed it!.
- Katie Okon for her editor’s eye in helping me with the text of this comic and my bio blurb.
- All my friends in the Scaredy Cats Café for all your emotional support—and fun while we doodled comics. And finally,
- Tom Hart and the inspiring community in the YLP-Sequential Artists Workshop for teaching me about comics, encouraging me to keep taking brave dives into mysterious pools of inks and watercolours.
I feel honoured and blessed to have journeyed with you all this past year!
I am sending a rainbow of gratitude to all!
