Urgent: Request for Support of S.841 – The Romance Scam Prevention Act

Ronnie Tokazowski

[Address Redacted for Personal Safety]

Chief Fraud Fighter, AntiScam.education

December 9, 2025

 

Dear Senator Paul,

I am writing to you both professionally and personally to urge your support for S.841 – The Romance Scam Prevention Act. As the Chief Fraud Fighter at AntiScam.education, I work directly with victims of online fraud every single day. I can tell you with absolute clarity: romance scams are not simple mistakes in judgment. They are industrialized psychological operations, run by organized criminal groups, that exploit the human nervous system, override conscious decision-making, and lead to devastating emotional and financial consequences.

I am asking you, respectfully but urgently, to reconsider your position on this bill.

The Reality: People Are Being Manipulated in Ways We Do Not Fully Understand

Over the past several years, I have worked with victims whose lives have been shattered by these scams. What I witness repeatedly is a form of induced emotional dependency—a process that mirrors trauma bonding, coercive control, and in many cases, dissociation. These are not simply conversations on a dating app; they are long-form psychological attacks designed to erode a person’s grounding in reality.

Victims describe feeling as though their “consciousness was hijacked.” 

And in a very real sense, it was.

We still do not fully understand all the mechanisms behind this type of manipulation. But we know enough to say that it is trauma-based, neurologically disruptive, and intentionally crafted by criminals who study human vulnerability with chilling precision.

The Cost of Inaction: People Are Taking Their Own Lives

I do not say this lightly: 

I have seen victims die because of this.

When a person realizes they have been defrauded—not just financially, but emotionally—they often experience extreme shame, collapse of identity, and a nervous-system shock comparable to acute trauma. Families are left grieving not only the financial loss but the loss of a loved one whose despair became unbearable.

This is preventable. 

And S.841 is a meaningful step toward that prevention.

Social Media and Dating Platforms Are Profiting From Fraud

The current system financially benefits platforms—not victims.

Social media and dating companies earn revenue every time a scammer engages on their platform:

• Every new fake profile is another monetized user. 

• Every message exchanged increases engagement metrics. 

• Every day a scammer is not banned is another day of ad-revenue and user-activity growth.

These companies have little incentive to meaningfully intervene, because fraud generates profit. Without federal standards, the platforms continue optimizing engagement while criminals weaponize the very same systems to deceive and groom victims.

S.841 finally introduces a measurable, enforceable expectation of basic safety.

This Bill Does Not Create Excessive Bureaucracy — It Creates Accountability

The Romance Scam Prevention Act provides a simple, practical requirement: when a platform bans a suspected fraudster, they must notify the people who interacted with that account. That is the bare minimum any ethical company should be doing, and yet many still do not.

Having reviewed the text of S.841 myself (and deeply familiar with its operational context), it is clear that the bill represents:

• A bipartisan, narrowly tailored solution 

• A fiscally responsible approach to prevention 

• A necessary shift toward platform accountability 

• A first step in protecting Americans before their savings and mental health are destroyed 

This bill will not solve every aspect of the problem, but it will save lives. It will prevent suicides. It will reduce the financial burden on families and on the nation. It will empower victims with early warning before irreversible losses occur.

Victims Are Not Asking for Special Treatment — They Are Asking for Basic Protection

The survivors I work with do not want handouts or pity. 

They want acknowledgement. 

They want justice. 

They want to know that their government sees them—not as careless, but as human beings who were targeted by a coordinated criminal enterprise.

Passing S.841 sends a clear message: 

The United States values its citizens more than the engagement metrics of social media platforms.

A Respectful Request

Senator Paul, I respectfully urge you to reconsider your opposition to this bill. Your voice holds weight. Your leadership could prevent further devastation for countless families.

If you or your staff would like to speak with victims directly, review case studies, or understand more about the psychological and neurological mechanisms that make these scams so effective, I would gladly share what I have learned in my years of frontline work.

Thank you for your time, your service, and your willingness to hear the voices of those who have been harmed.

Sincerely, 

Ronnie Tokazowski 

Chief Fraud Fighter 

AntiScam.education

 

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