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Emotional and financial costs of online dating scam: A phenomenological narrative of the experiences of victims of Nigerian romance fraudsters

Aborisade, Richard Abayomi ; Ocheja, Akoji ; Okuneye, Babatunde Adekunle (2023) — Journal of Economic Criminology

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DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconc.2023.100044 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Nigeria
Tags:   Cross Border Crime, Emotional Harm, Financial Loss, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Ipa, Nigerian Fraudsters, Nigerian Scammers, Online Dating, Qualitative Research, Romance Scams, Transnational Cybercrime, Victim Experiences
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Synopsis

            
This phenomenological study used purposive sampling and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Ten non-Nigerian victims from six countries, all reporting financial and non-financial losses to Nigerian romance fraudsters, completed one-to-one semi-structured Zoom interviews in English between February and April 2023. Victimisation had severe financial and long-term emotional consequences. Offenders used lengthy pre-dating friendships and emotional blackmail to exploit victims. The study lacked breadth across key sociodemographic characteristics, particularly gender, age, and marital status.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The paper identifies a scarcity of victim-centred qualitative, especially phenomenological, studies of international romance-scam experiences involving Nigerian perpetrators. Existing Nigerian research is described as predominantly offender-focused, while victims can be difficult to identify and recruit. The study also highlights limited representation of male, younger, and single-never-married victims.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
This phenomenological study used purposive sampling and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Ten non-Nigerian victims from six countries, all reporting financial and non-financial losses to Nigerian romance fraudsters, completed one-to-one semi-structured Zoom interviews in English between February and April 2023. Interviews lasted 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes, were transcribed verbatim, and analysed through annotation, coding, preliminary themes, clustering into master themes, and cross-case comparison. The first author and four additional coders reviewed themes against transcripts.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The study lacked breadth across key sociodemographic characteristics, particularly gender, age, and marital status. Despite recruitment efforts, no male victims agreed to participate; young adults and single-never-married victims were also not adequately represented. The purposive IPA sample was small (10 participants) and restricted to people certain that Nigerian citizens perpetrated the fraud, limiting diversity and transferability.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Further research should triangulate victims’, offenders’, Nigerian law-enforcement, and foreign anti-graft agencies’ perspectives to examine tactics, victim experiences, laws, and enforcement internationally. Research should also specifically explore men, young adults, and single-never-married people as online dating scam victims.

          

              

    
    

        
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