Romance Scam Research Center

Understanding Cybercrime in Developing Economies: Insights from Agona Swedru, Ghana

Obeng, Charles; Kumah, Paul Kwasi; Asiedu, Hubert Bimpeh; Obeng Senior, Felix Awuah (2024) — E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Type: Journal Article Country: Ghana Tags: offender tactics, AI misuse, measurement Methods: survey, quantitative

This study aims to assess how widespread cybercrime is in Agona Swedru and to identify the main factors that drive individuals toward such activity. A cross-sectional, quantitative survey was conducted with 397 participa...

Understanding the Nature of the Transnational Scam-Related Fraud: Challenges and Solutions from Vietnam’s Perspective

Luong, Hai Thanh; Ngo, Hieu Minh (2024) — Laws

Type: Journal Article Country: Australia Tags: offender tactics, law enforcement, platform policy, AI misuse, prevention, cross-cultural Methods: secondary data

This piece examines Understanding the Nature of the Transnational Scam-Related Fraud: Challenges and Solutions from Vietnam’s Perspective within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines...

Unravelling the organisation of ivorian cyberfraudsters: Criminal networks or organised crime?

Cretu-Adatte, Cristina; Azi, Josselin Wilfred; Beaudet-Labrecque, Olivier; Bunning, Hazel; Brunoni, Luca; Zbinden, Renaud (2024) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: Switzerland

This piece examines Unravelling the organisation of ivorian cyberfraudsters: Criminal networks or organised crime? within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns docume...

Unveiling the Patterns of Romance Scams in South Korea

Choi, SW.; Lee, J.; Choi, YJ. (2024) — International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning

Type: Journal Article Country: South Korea Tags: offender tactics

Romance scams are a form of cybercrime in which fraudsters cultivate online relationships to obtain money, personal information, or access to resources from targeted individuals. Global trends indicate a rising prevalenc...

Victim-offender overlap: the identity transformations experienced by trafficked Chinese workers escaping from pig-butchering scam syndicate

Wang, F. (2024) — Trends in Organized Crime

Type: Journal Article Country: United States Tags: victim experience, offender tactics, platform policy, AI misuse, social engineering, prevention

This study explores the intersection of human trafficking and online romance fraud within the context of the pig-butchering scam (Sha Zhu Pan, 杀猪盘). While the scam is widely recognized for combining romance and invest...

“I knew it was a scam”: Understanding the triggers for recognizing romance fraud

Cross, C. (2023) — Criminology & Public Policy

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

This article examines the factors that contribute to the moment a romance fraud victimization becomes realized, drawing on 1015 reports submitted to Scamwatch, Australia’s online fraud reporting portal, during the period...

A Game-Theoretic Approach to Detecting Romance Scams

Nwafor, E. (2023) — New Perspectives in Behavioral Cybersecurity

Type: Book Chapter Country: United States

This piece examines A Game-Theoretic Approach to Detecting Romance Scams within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the literature, describes how offe...

A Research on False Pragmatic Identity Construction in Telecom Network Dating Scam

Lu, Jiaxuan (2023) — Modern Linguistics

Type: Journal Article Country: China

This piece examines A Research on False Pragmatic Identity Construction in Telecom Network Dating Scam within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the...

Analysis of the Romance Scam Phenomenon in Interpersonal Communication of Love Scammer & Victim

Nomleni, KEJ. (2023) — Jurnal Communio : Jurnal Jurusan Ilmu Komunikasi

Type: Journal Article Country: Indonesia Tags: victim experience, AI misuse, online dating platforms Methods: interview

In line with the progress of the times, online interaction has become a real part of the dynamics of romantic relationships. This phenomenon brings various impacts: some relationships continue to the stage of marriage, b...

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...