Romance Scam Research Center

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,...

Romanssihuijaus - rakkauden varjolla tehty kyberrikos

Kanervo, Riikka; Normann, Maria; Korhonen, Helmi (2025) — Kriminologia

Type: Journal Article Country: Finland Tags: AI misuse

The paper analyzes romance scams as a distinct and serious form of cybercrime, emphasizing that these schemes rely on emotional manipulation rather than purely financial deception. Offenders build fabricated romantic rel...

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, Stephany; Buil-Gil, David (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 Gamification of Online Romance Fraud through Offenders’ Cards

Abubakari, Yushawu; Oseh-Ovarah, Valeen (2025) — Digital Threats: Research and Practice

Type: Journal Article Country: Czech Republic Tags: victim experience, psychology, AI misuse, prevention, cross-cultural Methods: interview

This study addresses the persistence of online romance fraud in Ghana and treats offenders as strategic players within a game-theoretic framework. By viewing fraudulent encounters as a strategic contest, the researchers...

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...

The Online Mutual Help Practices of Romance Fraud Victims

Cantin, Pascale-Marie; Ream, Fyscillia; Dupont, Benoît (2025) — The Security of Self

Type: Book Chapter

This volume examines the online mutual help practices of individuals who have experienced romance fraud. Published by Les Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa (University of Ottawa Press eBooks), it presents a cross‑discipli...

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 Country: United States 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, Yutaka (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 Country: Italy

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...