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Why do smart, capable people fall for scams?
Because scams don’t exploit stupidity — they exploit human psychology.

In this episode of The Romance Scam Rebellion, I’m joined by Dr. Martina Dove, a leading researcher in fraud psychology and author of The Psychology of Fraud, Persuasion, and Scam Techniques. Dr. Dove earned her PhD at the University of Portsmouth, where she developed one of the first academic measures of fraud susceptibility.

Together, we dismantle the myth that scam victims are gullible or careless. Dr. Dove explains how scammers use grooming, emotional manipulation, cognitive bias, and urgency to bypass even the strongest defenses — especially in romance scams.

We discuss:

• Why intelligence does not protect against scams
• How grooming begins long before money is requested
• Why romance scams cause deeper shame and isolation
• How fear, love, and urgency shut down rational thinking
• The rise of AI-driven fraud, sextortion, and youth-targeted scams
• Why blaming victims protects systems — not people

This episode replaces shame with understanding — and gives listeners the tools to recognize manipulation before it takes hold.

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Email me at [email protected] if you have a story you need to tell.

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In this episode, I confront the cruel comments often directed at romance scam survivors — calling them stupid, desperate, or deserving of what happened. These reactions aren’t harmless opinions. They actively protect scammers.

When the criminal is visible, we aim our outrage at them.
 When the criminal is invisible, that anger gets redirected toward the victim.

Through real public comments, historical fraud cases, cult leaders, and modern scam operations, this episode exposes a hard truth: intelligence, wealth, education, faith, and “common sense” do not protect people from manipulation. Grooming, coercive control, and emotional exploitation bypass our internal alarm systems — not our intelligence.

Victim-blaming keeps survivors silent, prevents reporting, and allows these crimes to continue in the dark. Empathy isn’t weakness — it’s how scams are exposed.

If you’ve ever thought, “That could never happen to me,” this episode is for you.

Because cruelty isn’t just collateral damage — it’s the business model.

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In this powerful episode of The Romance Scam Rebellion, Anola sits down with Jennifer French Tomasic MSc, a psychologist and expert in coercive control, to explore one of the most insidious psychological dynamics behind manipulation and abuse.

Jennifer shares her deep expertise — rooted in both academic study and lived experience — including her MSc in the Psychology of Coercive Control and her work as a trauma practitioner and expert witness.

Together, they unpack:

• What coercive control really means — beyond just “abuse” or “manipulation”
• How patterns of undue influence and power imbalance show up in relationships, cults, and high-control environments
• Why intelligent, confident people fall deeper into deception than they ever expected
• The psychological and emotional mechanics that keep victims trapped
• How to recognize the signs early — before it’s too late

This conversation bridges the worlds of romance scam psychology and the broader terror of coercive control. It offers practical insight and compassion for anyone trying to make sense of manipulation in their relationships — whether romantic, familial, or institutional.

If you’ve ever wondered why people stay in harmful dynamics long after the red flags appear, this episode provides clarity and context.
 Welcome to a deeper understanding of how control works — and how to break free.

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Romance scams don’t happen by accident.
 They follow a script.

In this episode of The Romance Scam Rebellion, I'll break down the exact psychological playbook scammers use worldwide to brainjack trust, attachment, and decision-making—tactic by tactic, step by step.

What feels like love…
 What feels like destiny…
 What feels deeply personal…

…is actually engineered.

Drawing from my own experience inside a long-term romance scam, I expose how manipulation works at the neurological and psychological level—and why intelligence, education, and life experience offer no immunity.

This episode unpacks the core manipulation tactics scammers rely on, including:

• Love bombing and emotional flooding
 • Mirroring and manufactured “perfect matches”
 • Future faking and fantasy construction
 • The Ben Franklin Effect (how helping them makes you trust them more)
 • Intermittent reinforcement and emotional withdrawal
 • The sunk cost fallacy and “too invested to quit” thinking
 • Isolation, secrecy, and reality distortion

These tactics don’t operate alone. They chain together, creating a psychological trap that can make walking away feel impossible—even when red flags are everywhere.

This is not a story about being naïve.
 It’s a story about how the human brain works—and how that knowledge is weaponized against victims across the globe.

If you’ve ever wondered “How could this happen?”—to yourself or someone you love—this episode explains exactly how.

Because once you can see the playbook,
 the manipulation loses its power.

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In the Season 2 opener, Anola exposes the hidden psychological mechanism powering nearly every modern romance scam: love bombing. This isn’t just cheesy sweet talk — it’s a deliberate strategy built to overwhelm your emotions and chemically hijack your brain. Using her own experience with “Pedro,” she illustrates how scammers identify emotional vulnerabilities, flood victims with affection, and use dopamine and oxytocin to create deep, false attachment that bypasses logic and silences red flags.

This episode breaks down how victims get “brainjacked,” why the relationship feels real, why walking away is so difficult, and how scammers use a fabricated romantic fantasy to set the stage for financial exploitation. It also offers concrete steps to protect yourself, help loved ones, and get clarity if you’re experiencing love bombing right now.

Powerful, validating, and eye-opening — this episode exposes the emotional engineering behind online fraud and gives you the tools to recognize manipulation before it becomes abuse.

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Email me at [email protected] if you have a story you need to tell.

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Email me at [email protected] if you have questions or if you want to unload your silent burden. I understand. I will never disclose your identity without your permission. I want to hear your story!

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Season finale. After the initial shock of a romance scam, the damage doesn’t stop — it ripples through every part of your life. From identity theft to fake crypto schemes, government inaction to emotional and physical fallout, this episode breaks down the lasting aftershocks that survivors face every day.

I share my personal story of betrayal, not only with my scammer, but also with fraudulent crypto investments, and the frustrating bureaucracy that leaves victims unprotected. We also explore how Big Tech enables these scams — and why it’s time to demand accountability.

If you or someone you love has been targeted, this episode offers hard-earned lessons, a call to action, and the reminder that resistance is part of healing.

Trigger Warning: Financial fraud, emotional trauma, identity theft

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After my first disaster, I needed more than closure — I needed the truth. This episode follows my painful journey chasing the “real man” behind a fake profile, hoping to find answers and redemption.

But chasing closure led me into a second scam, where the same patterns played out again — the lies, the manipulation, the gut-wrenching betrayals. I recount my cautious attempts to connect, the video chats, and the shocking revelations that left me questioning everything once more.

Through this raw, personal story, I explore the brutal psychology of a second scam — how trauma and hope can trap us in a cycle that’s hard to break.

If you’ve been caught in a similar cycle or know someone who has, you’re not alone. This episode offers compassion, hard truths, and a call to stay vigilant before the red flags become too entangled in the heart.

Trigger warning: Emotional trauma, betrayal, financial loss.

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This episode is deeply personal. It’s about betrayal, financial trauma, and the painful moment when denial breaks — when the fantasy shatters and harsh truth takes hold.

Despite growing doubts, desperation pushed me forward. As suspicion grew, so did the distance between us. Love messages faded, replaced by transactions and demands.

Then came the moment that changed everything: an unexpected call from an unexpected source — confirmation of what I’d been fearing. I was caught in a scam. I share the gut-wrenching phone call, the confession to my family, and how I faced the reality of losing over $800K.

This episode exposes the emotional and financial devastation scams cause — and the courage it takes to face the truth and start healing.

Trigger warning: Financial loss, emotional trauma, family struggles.

If you’re struggling with something similar, you are not alone. 

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What started as emotional kindling erupts into a full-scale inferno.

In this second half of Ember to Inferno, I take you into the fire — where emotional manipulation turns into financial devastation. From credit lines and wire transfers to maxed-out credit cards, crypto ATMs, and even sending cash through the mail — this is the unraveling of a scam in real time.

This isn’t just about the money.
 It’s about access. Shame. Isolation. And how trust becomes a weapon in the wrong hands.

💥 Learn how scammers exploit every corner of your life — from your retirement to your relationships.
 💸 Hear how I was drained of over $800,000, one excuse at a time.
🚩 Understand the red flags — including subtle “caring” behaviors that are anything but.

I’ll walk you through the emotional chokehold that made walking into the bank feel like stepping onto a battlefield — and how I still justified each decision, even when the truth started seeping through the cracks.

💔 If you’ve ever thought “this could never happen to me” — this episode might change your mind.

Trigger Warning: Financial trauma, emotional manipulation, family deception, and intense psychological abuse.

This may the darkest part of the story.
 But the war isn’t over.
 The next episode? The Wake-Up Call.

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Email me at [email protected] if you have a story you need to tell.