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Romance Scams: Romantic Imagery and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Chuang, JY. (2021) — Frontiers in Psychiatry

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DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.738874 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Taiwan
Tags:   Mental Imagery, Neural Mechanisms, Online Dating, Prefrontal Cortex, Ptsd, Risk Factors, Romance Scams, Romantic Imagery, Tdcs, Victim Experience
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Synopsis

            
This hypothesis-and-theory paper conceptually integrates published literature on romance scams, mental imagery, romantic love neuroscience, and tDCS. It proposes that exaggerated romantic imagery and visual-network activity may sustain attachment to scammers and that imagery-based techniques or tDCS targeting the fusiform face area could be therapeutic. Romance scammers use fake identities, groom targets, communicate intensely over extended periods, and then use excuses to obtain money. The paper reports PTSD-like symptoms and suicidal thoughts among some romance-scam victims. The author explicitly notes a dearth of prior literature on romance-scam intervention and no actual empirical evidence supporting the proposed hypothesis.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The paper identifies scant literature on the psychological consequences of romance scams and a dearth of research on interventions. It also notes limited direct research on the neural mechanisms of romantic imagery and lacks empirical evidence that exaggerated romantic imagery causes persistent attachment or that tDCS is effective for scam victims.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
A hypothesis-and-theory paper that conceptually integrates published literature on romance scams, mental imagery, romantic love neuroscience, and tDCS. It proposes that exaggerated romantic imagery and visual-network activity may sustain attachment to scammers and that imagery-based techniques or tDCS targeting the fusiform face area could be therapeutic. No original participant data or intervention trial is reported.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The author explicitly notes a dearth of prior literature on romance-scam intervention and no actual empirical evidence supporting the proposed hypothesis. The proposed mechanism linking romantic imagery to scam-related attachment, suicidality, and treatment response is speculative. Supporting neuroscience and tDCS findings are largely drawn from mental imagery, PTSD, and other psychiatric contexts rather than romance-scam victims.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Test the romantic-imagery hypothesis and visual-network tDCS intervention in real-world clinical practice. Evaluate whether manipulating romantic imagery reduces the psychological impact of romance scams. Conduct further tDCS safety research in vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, children, older adults, and people with epilepsy, stroke, or mood disorders.

          

              

    
    

        
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