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The Scammers Persuasive Techniques Model: Development of a Stage Model to Explain the Online Dating Romance Scam

M. T. Whitty (2013) — British Journal of Criminology

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DOI: 10.1093/bjc/azt009 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   United Kingdom
Tags:   Cognitive Dissonance, Grooming, Icts, Information And Communication Technologies, Near Win, Online Dating Romance Scam, Persuasive Techniques, Re Victimization, Thematic Interviews
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Synopsis

            
The publication is titled The Scammers Persuasive Techniques Model: Development of a Stage Model to Explain the Online Dating Romance Scam, authored by Monica T. Whitty and published in 2013 in the British Journal of Criminology. The work presents itself as a criminological inquiry into the mechanisms behind online dating romance scams, signaling an effort to articulate how scammers persuade targets through a structured sequence or stage-based framework. Based on the available metadata and title, the article aims to construct a stage model to explain the persuasive tactics employed by scammers in online dating scenarios. The emphasis appears to be on outlining a theoretical or conceptual framework that accounts for the progression of persuasive techniques used by perpetrators, as opposed to empirical estimates or statistical analyses. The publication’s placement in a criminology journal suggests an intent to contribute to scholarly discussions about online deception, victimization, and offender strategies within the domain of criminal behavior and its prevention. Because only bibliographic details and the title are provided here, the synopsis cannot report specific findings, data, or methodological details. The piece is presented as a development or proposal of a structured model intended to illuminate the dynamics of romance scams in online dating contexts. It likely situates the model within existing criminological theories of persuasion, offender technique, and victim interaction, and it may discuss how a stage-based lens can aid scholars and practitioners in understanding or analyzing such scams. The exact scope, validations, and limitations, if any, are not described in the available excerpt.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The paper identifies scant research on scammers’ persuasive techniques, little knowledge of romance scam effects on victims, and no theory explicitly addressing mass-marketing fraud. It also finds existing persuasion theory incomplete: the elaboration likelihood model did not adequately explain this scam, while cognitive dissonance and near-win processes appeared more useful. Further research is needed on victim impacts and typologies.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
The study used long, semi-structured interviews with 20 financial and non-financial online-dating romance-scam victims. Participants were recruited through the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency and volunteers from the author’s victim-typology survey. Most interviews were face-to-face, lasted three to five hours, and some participants were re-interviewed for clarification. The author conducted thematic analysis, comparing accounts with prior mass-marketing-fraud theories and identifying emergent themes and staged scam processes.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The evidence is based on a small, purposively recruited interview sample, predominantly UK-resident and including substantially more women than men. Participants were recruited through law-enforcement contact or a prior survey/support-related context, so experiences may not represent all romance-scam victims. The paper reports only a subset of a wider study; victim typology and psychological impact were reserved for other papers. Findings about addiction, flow, and re-victimization are interpretive rather than tested causal conclusions.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Future research should examine whether conceptualizing victims’ immersion as flow or addiction helps explain delayed scam recognition, difficulties exiting, and re-victimization. Research is also needed on the typology of victims and psychological impacts, which this paper identifies as subjects for other papers rather than reporting here.

          

              

    
    

        
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