Author KL Adams

Romance scams are often treated as a modern problem—something born of dating apps, social media, and cryptocurrency. But deception in the name of love is far older, more complex, and more deeply human than most of us realize.

That realization is what led me to write Love Cons: Catfishing Through The Ages.

This book isn’t just about online fraud. It’s about how the human desire for connection has been exploited across centuries, from handwritten letters and wartime correspondence to AI-driven romance scams and “pig butchering” schemes today. Technology changes. Human vulnerability does not.

Catfishing Didn’t Start With the Internet

Long before profile pictures and messaging apps, people were falling in love with carefully constructed personas. Wealthy suitors wrote letters from afar. Soldiers promised futures that never came. Confidence men posed as widowers, nobles, or businessmen to gain emotional and financial trust.

What we now call catfishing has always existed—it simply evolved alongside communication itself.

Love Cons traces this evolution:

• Ancient myths and early deception narratives
• Letter-based romance fraud in the 18th and 19th centuries
• Wartime emotional manipulation
• The rise of online dating scams
• Cryptocurrency romance fraud and “pig butchering”
• The emerging threat of AI-driven emotional manipulation

Each era reveals the same pattern: intimacy is rushed, trust is manufactured, and hope becomes leverage.

Why Smart, Capable People Fall for Love Scams

One of the most damaging myths surrounding romance scams is that victims are naïve or careless. In reality, many are intelligent, emotionally aware, and successful individuals.

Scammers don’t target ignorance—they target human attachment.

This book explores:

• The psychology of emotional manipulation
• Why accelerated intimacy overrides logic
• How trust bonds form without physical presence
• The role of shame and silence after betrayal
• Why intuition often sounds the alarm before evidence does

Understanding these mechanisms isn’t about blame. It’s about clarity and protection.

A Book About Awareness, Not Fear

Love Cons is not written to scare readers away from love or connection. It’s written to restore agency.

By understanding the patterns of deception:

• We become harder to manipulate
• We learn how to verify without paranoia
• We set boundaries without closing our hearts
• We replace shame with knowledge

The goal is not suspicion—it’s discernment.

Who This Book Is For

This book is for:

• Anyone who has experienced online dating
• Survivors of romance scams seeking understanding
• Readers interested in psychology and human behavior
• Those curious about the future of AI and emotional manipulation
• Anyone who believes love should empower, not destroy

If you’ve ever wondered “How could this happen?”—to yourself or someone you know—this book answers that question with compassion and clarity.

Where to Find the Book

Love Cons: Catfishing Through The Ages is now available on Amazon.

👉 Love Cons: Catfishing Through The Ages available on Amazon

If this topic resonates with you, consider sharing this post. Silence protects scammers. Awareness protects people.

Love has always been powerful. Understanding how it’s been exploited is one of the strongest ways we can protect it.