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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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Email me at romancescamrebellion@gmail.com if you have a story you need to tell.

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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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Email me at romancescamrebellion@gmail.com if you have a story you need to tell.

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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.

Support the show

Email me at romancescamrebellion@gmail.com if you have a story you need to tell.