In India, the practices of tantra, black magic, and related spiritual arts have existed for millennia. Traditionally, tantriks (or tāntrikas) operated within customary spaces such as villages, temples, or the local network of spiritual belief. Many genuinely believed their work addressed spiritual or emotional suffering. Yet with time, some of these practices have shifted towards exploitation, especially in the digital age.
In earlier eras, people turned to tantric practitioners to solve personal problems like illness, family strife, and psychological distress, believing that unseen spiritual forces could be intervened upon. For many tantriks, the work brought income, social status, or community support, not always profit along exploitative lines.
But today, many of those who claim tantric or mystical expertise have moved online. They use slick websites, social media, international payment systems, and marketing techniques to reach worldwide audiences. For those who believe in astrology, spiritual aid, or black magic, the promise of a solution is often powerful enough to make one overlook red flags.
These digital shifts exploit psychological vulnerabilities in ways that parallel how magicians create illusions, as explored in a 2022 review by Robert G. Alexander, Stephen L. Macknik, and Susana Martinez-Conde in Publications (What the Neuroscience and Psychology of Magic Reveal about Misinformation). Just as magicians use misdirection to divert attention from secret methods, cyber-tantriks overwhelm victims with emotional narratives, repeated promises, and escalating demands, preventing critical evaluation of the scam's implausibility.
Consider the story highlighted in a RealTalk Podcast episode featuring Naman Jain, where a tantrik allegedly scammed a young woman through black magic claims, involving blackmail and fraud. A young Indian woman raised in the United States, seeking help for love-life troubles, searched online and found a so-called “tantrik consultant” who charged her US$4,000 in the first session, promising to resolve her relationship problems. When nothing changed, the tantrik claimed she had negative energy that required further payments to cleanse. She paid another $4,000 but their was no relief. The situation escalated when she was coerced to undress on video calls purportedly to check “marks” of black magic on her body. When she refused to pay more or comply further, the tantrik threatened to release her intimate recordings.
This case echoes the illusory truth effect described by Alexander et al. (2022), where repeated exposure to false claims like ongoing assurances of spiritual intervention makes them seem more believable, even when contradicted by reality. Victims, already emotionally invested, fall into a cycle of confirmation bias, ignoring red flags as they focus on the promised outcomes.
Sadly, cases like this are not isolated. Similar patterns such as high fees, ongoing payments, demands for humiliating or sexualised proof, and threats are increasingly reported.
A recent academic study, Dark Webs: Tantra, Black Magic, and Cyberspace by Hugh B. Urban (2022), examines exactly this transformation. Urban studies online tāntrik practitioners in Assam, India, and shows how the digital age has changed not only how tantra is practiced and marketed, but who holds authority in the tantra-sphere.
Some key findings:
Digital Authority vs Traditional Authority: Online tantriks build reputations not through lineage, ritual purity, or traditional credentials, but through social media metrics such as followers, engagement, and testimonials. Their legitimacy is algorithmic and mediated by platforms.
Blending & Stereotyping: The practices often mix elements from different magical or spiritual traditions including voodoo or romantic love magic with Indian tantra. These blended forms typically emphasize love, romance, and family issues, rather than deeper philosophical roots.
Sex, Love & Romantic Magic: Urban notes an Americanized version of tantra online in which the narrative is heavily about sex, love, and romance, often promising quick fixes in intimate relationships. This makes people especially vulnerable, emotionally invested, and willing to pay.
These tactics align with attentional illusions in magic, per Alexander et al. (2022), where overwhelming information such as rapid promises and emotional storytelling creates information overwhelm, preventing victims from noticing inconsistencies. Just as magicians use patter to distract, cyber-tantriks employ compelling narratives to misdirect focus toward desperation and away from skepticism.
When the promises fail, the emotional toll can be enormous:
Deep disappointment, self-blame, and shame (“Was I foolish?”).
Fear of exposure, especially when sexualised content or nudity is involved. The anxiety around leaks or threats can affect mental health.
Isolation, as victims feel they cannot tell family or worry about being judged.
Distrust, not only in spiritual practices, but also in relationships and even in oneself.
This mirrors memory illusions in misinformation, where biased recollections such as reframing failures as needing more "cleansing" reinforce the scam, as noted by Alexander et al. (2022). Victims may even defend the scammer initially due to the continued influence effect, where debunked beliefs linger.
References:
Alexander, Robert G., Stephen L. Macknik, and Susana Martinez-Conde. “What the Neuroscience and Psychology of Magic Reveal about Misinformation.” Publications 10, no. 4 (2022): 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications10040042.
Jain, Naman. “Online Tantra Fraud Case.” RealTalk Podcast. Episode aired 2025.
Urban, Hugh B. Dark Webs: Tantra, Black Magic, and Cyberspace. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
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