Romance Scam Research Center

Policing cross-border fraud ‘Above and below the surface’: mapping actions and developing a more effective global response

Button, Mark; Hock, Branislav; Suh, Joon Bae; Koh, Chol Soo (2025) — Crime, Law and Social Change

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: platform policy, AI misuse, measurement, cross-cultural

Cross-border fraud represents a global challenge, spanning forms such as online retail fraud, pyramid schemes, romance fraud, and pig butchering. While there is clear evidence that these abuses are expanding across borde...

Reality Counseling Approach to Increasing Career Woman Awareness (Case Study Love Scam)

Nakhma'ussolikhah; Iman Subasman; Lina Marliani (2025) — International Journal of Education and Humanities

Type: Journal Article Country: Indonesia Tags: older adults, AI misuse Populations: older adults

This catalog entry outlines a study of globalization and its generational impacts, tracing how global interconnectedness shapes daily life, values, and social structures across cohorts, and how shifts from tangible, real...

Recognizing the Evolving Cybercrime Threats in South Africa

Mpuru, Lebogang; Kgoale, Charles (2025) — African Security

Type: Journal Article Country: South Africa

This article investigates recent cybercrime trends in South Africa (2019–2023) and highlights the persistent threats facing the country’s economy and financial markets. Using a systematic literature review organized thro...

Romance Scam Victimization: A Survey-Based Examination of Financial, Psychological, and Reporting Factors

Herrera, LD. (2025) — 2025 13th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS)

Type: Proceedings Article Country: United States Tags: victim experience, psychology, AI misuse, measurement Methods: survey, quantitative

Romance scams constitute a rising form of cybercrime in which perpetrators cultivate deceitful romantic relationships to extract financial resources, causing substantial economic and psychological harm while remaining ma...

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,...

Strategic business movements? The migration of online romance fraudsters from Nigeria to Ghana

Lazarus, S.; Button, M.; Garba, KH.; Soares, AB.; Hughes, M. (2025) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

This catalog entry surveys the topic of cross-border movement among actors involved in online romance fraud, focusing on a shift from Nigeria to Ghana. The article situates the phenomenon within the broader field of econ...

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 Mental Health Impacts of Internet Scams

Balcombe, Luke (2025) — International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Type: Journal Article Country: Australia Tags: victim experience, AI misuse, risk factors, prevention Methods: case study

Cyber fraud schemes have grown in sophistication and are increasingly prevalent in affluent countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Within this landscape, Australia has demonstrate...

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...

“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...