Romance Scam Research Center

Are fraud victims nothing more than animals? Critiquing the propagation of “pig butchering” (Sha Zhu Pan, 杀猪盘)

Whittaker, Jack M.; Lazarus, Suleman; Corcoran, Taidgh (2024) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

The article explores the growing phenomenon of romance scams as a particularly harmful form of cybercrime that exploits emotional vulnerability for financial gain. The authors position romance scams within the wider land...

HeartGuard VR: Immersive Romance Scam Education

Lea, Octavia; Shepherd, Lynsay A.; Szymkowiak, Andrea (2024) — Lecture notes in computer science

Type: Book Chapter Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, social engineering

This piece examines HeartGuard VR: Immersive Romance Scam Education within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the literature, describes how offenders...

Love at First Sleight: A Review of Scammer Techniques in Online Romance Fraud

Kydd, Marc; Shepherd, Lynsay A.; Szymkowiak, Andrea; Johnson, Graham I. (2024) — Springer Proceedings in Complexity

Type: Book Chapter Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, law enforcement, AI misuse

This piece examines Love at First Sleight: A Review of Scammer Techniques in Online Romance Fraud within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the liter...

Relationship fraud: Romance, friendship and family frauds

Button, Mark; Carter, Elisabeth (2024) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

Relationship fraud refers to intentional deception in which trust within intimate or interpersonal ties—romance, friendship, and family relationships—is exploited to obtain money, property, or other benefits. The topic c...

The dark side of Artificial Intelligence – Risks arising in dating applications

Fletcher, Rachel; Tzani, Calli; Ioannou, Maria (2024) — Assessment and Development Matters

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, AI misuse, online dating platforms

This piece examines The dark side of Artificial Intelligence – Risks arising in dating applications within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the lit...

The Language of Romance Crimes

Carter, E. (2024) — The Language of Romance Crimes

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

Within Cambridge Core's Law: General Interest collection, The Language of Romance Crimes surveys how legal discourse encodes offenses that unfold in the context of intimate relationships. The work examines the vocabulary...

Cheques or dating scams? Online fraud themes in hip-hop songs across popular music apps

Lazarus, S; Olaigbe, O; Adeduntan, A; Dibiana, ET; Okolorie, GU (2023) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

This article surveys representations of online fraud in hip-hop as they appear in widely used music apps. It examines how themes of online deception, particularly those involving cheques and dating scams, are depicted in...

Dating hot spot to fraud hot spot: Targeting the social characteristics of romance fraud victims in England and Wales

Sinclair, R.; Bland, M.; Savage, B. (2023) — Criminology & Public Policy

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, law enforcement, platform policy, AI misuse, prevention, cross-cultural

This piece examines Dating hot spot to fraud hot spot: Targeting the social characteristics of romance fraud victims in England and Wales within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines...

Legal Protection for Victims of Love Scam Crimes

Bimantari, N.; Kusnadi, SA.; Purwaningtyas, FD. (2023) — Jurnal Ilmu Hukum Wijaya Putra

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: AI misuse

This piece examines PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM BAGI KORBAN KEJAHATAN LOVE SCAM within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the literature, describes how offend...

Mapping romance fraud research – a systematic review

Kassem, R.; Carter, E. (2023) — Journal of Financial Crime

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, offender tactics, psychology, platform policy, AI misuse, prevention

This article presents a systematic review of more than two decades of scholarly work on romance fraud with the aim of delivering a holistic understanding of the crime and identifying gaps in the literature. The review sp...