[Online romance scams - report on an old victim with mental disorder]

Abstract

Online romance scam is a form of cybercrime that has spread with the advent of social media and dating apps. In this specific form of crime, the perpetrators deceive the victim by imitating a love relationship. We can assume that patients suffering from mental disorders are more vulnerable to this form of cybercrime, but there have been hardly any studies or case reports in this direction so far. Presenting the case of an old female patient, we summarize the characteristics of online romantic scam as well as the possibilities of recognizing victimization and mitigating the consequences. The 70-year-old female patient was admitted to psychiatric ward after a suicide attempt, as she took large amounts of benzodiazepines after a conflict with her husband. In the background of the suicide attempt, online romantic scam and its negative consequences were outlined. In this patient with depressive disorder and mild cognitive impairment, online romantic scam induced erotomanic delusional disorder and suicide attempt. For the first time in the literature, we present the case of a patient with mental disorder, in whom online romantic scam led to the development of delusional disorder of the erotomanic type. Our conclusion is that when treating patients with mental disorders, one should also pay attention to their online activity, since they are at increased risk of becoming victims of online – romantic – scam, especially if other risk factors also present. Orv Hetil. 2024; 165(5): 192–196.

Keywords: case report; delusional disorder – erotomanic type; deluzív zavar – erotomán típus; enyhe kognitív zavar; esetismertetés; mild cognitive impairment; online romance scam; online romantikus csalás.