The fraudulent discourse: strategy of appeal to confusion / guilt

Introduction. The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of one of the most effective strategies of technically mediated fraud, namely the strategy of appeal to confusion / guilt. The relevance of the study is based on the lack of scientific articles that provide a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms and communication tools used in the process of manipulative influence and creation of various emotional states in the victim of fraud. The purpose of the study is to describe the stages of influence on the victim and to provide a detailed disclosure of the characteristics of each stage in the chain of emotions formed by the fraudster.
Materials and Methods. Data: messages posted by users of social networks, thematic forums, entertainment sites, publications of press departments of public service agencies on their official websites, transcripts of videos on the topic of fraud and user comments to these videos posted on popular video hosting sites, as well as empirical material extracted from databases. The following methods of analysis were used in the study: continuous sampling, generalization, interpretation, analysis and comparison of data.
Analysis. The features of the formation of a specific psychological state of the victim during the implementation of destructive communicative influence are studied. The means used by the fraudster to create the corresponding state are systematized, the temporal factors used, lexical specifics, and rhetorical techniques are identified.
Results. The study allowed us to establish how the exploitation of traditional values affects the effectiveness of the implementation of this strategy within the framework of fraudulent discourse. The general characteristics of the strategy are considered, and the communicative means specific to it are identified.

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