Romance Scam Research Center

Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams

Schokkenbroek, JM.; Snaphaan, T. (2025) — Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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

This piece examines Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the li...

Modus Operandi and Blockchain Analysis of Romance Scams: Cryptocurrency-Driven Victimization

Lim, A.; Choi, KS. (2025) — International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

Type: Journal Article Country: United States

This piece examines Modus Operandi and Blockchain Analysis of Romance Scams: Cryptocurrency-Driven Victimization within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns document...

Romance Scams and Older Adults: A Health and Social Care Perspective

Sorinmade, Oluwatoyin; Emmett, Charlotte; Elugbadebo, Olufisayo; Okolo, Chidera (2025) — Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, psychology, older adults Populations: older adults

The proliferation of online interaction has expanded opportunities for connection and encounter, alongside increasingly sophisticated forms of exploitation. This article centers on romance scams as a significant threat,...

The effect of true crime docuseries on romance fraud reporting to the police

Grant, S.; Buil-Gil, D. (2025) — Crime Science

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

Romance fraud is a crime in which an individual is deceived for financial gain by someone they believe to be a romantic partner. Despite its reach and impact on victims, this form of wrongdoing remains markedly underrepo...

The prevention of online romance scams using a crime script analysis from the victim’s perspective

Wang, Fangzhou; Kelsay, James D (2025) — International Review of Victimology

Type: Journal Article Tags: victim experience, offender tactics, platform policy, AI misuse, social engineering, prevention, measurement, cross-cultural

Online romance scams (ORS) have grown in severity, exploiting human vulnerabilities and trust through social engineering, which underscores the need for robust preventive strategies. This study advances the field by deve...

Therapeutic but toxic spaces: Romance fraud victimization from a psychosocial perspective

Yoshida, Y. (2025) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

Therapeutic but toxic spaces: Romance fraud victimization from a psychosocial perspective is positioned within economic criminology to explore how intimate-deception operates at the junction of individual psychology and...

Uncovering vulnerability to fraud and scams among adult victims in online and offline contexts: A systematic review

Dadà, Chiara Barbara; Colautti, Laura; Rosi, Alessia; Cavallini, Elena; Antonietti, Alessandro; Iannello, Paola (2025) — Computers in Human Behavior

Type: Journal Article

This catalog-style synopsis summarizes a systematic review of adult vulnerability to fraud and scams in online and offline contexts, as published in Computers in Human Behavior. The review aggregates empirical work to ma...

“If U Don't Pay they will Share the Pics”: Exploring Sextortion in the Context of Romance Fraud

Cross, C.; Holt, K.; O'Malley, RL. (2024) — Scams, Cons, Frauds, and Deceptions

Type: Book Chapter Country: Australia Tags: victim experience, offender tactics, AI misuse

This piece examines “If U Don't Pay they will Share the Pics”: Exploring Sextortion in the Context of Romance Fraud within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns docum...

“Why did I fall for it?” Exploring internet fraud susceptibility in the pig butchering scam

Xie, Z.; Duan, Z. (2024) — Security Journal

Type: Journal Article Country: China Tags: victim experience, platform policy, prevention Methods: interview

Pig butchering scam, known also as Sha Zhu Pan or 杀猪盘, represents a contemporary form of online fraud that initially targeted Asian victims. With the expansion of Southeast Asian fraud networks, the scheme has achieve...

A Quantitative Analysis on the Sentencing Disparity in Online Romance Scam Cases in United States: A Focal Concern Theory Perspective

Wang, F. (2024) — Crime & Delinquency

Type: Journal Article Country: United States Tags: victim experience, AI misuse, cross-cultural Methods: quantitative

This piece examines A Quantitative Analysis on the Sentencing Disparity in Online Romance Scam Cases in United States: A Focal Concern Theory Perspective within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communicat...