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Drug mule for love

Whitty, Monica T. (2021) — Journal of Financial Crime

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DOI: 10.1108/jfc-11-2019-0149 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Tags:   AI-Enabled Fraud, Drug Mule, Grooming, Offender Tactics, Online Communication, Romance Scams, Sleep Deprivation, Victim Experience
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Synopsis

            
This publication presents a detailed case study of a romance scam victim who was unknowingly used as a drug mule. Its stated purpose is to deepen understanding of the stages involved in such cases and to compare this instance with established research on romance scams, while also examining the strategies employed by the criminals. The study combines interviews with the victim, legal team, and family members with analysis of the victim’s instant messenger chats and emails, employing a grounded theory approach to interpret the material. The authors describe how the case fits, and in some ways expands, the existing romance-scam framework. They replicate Whitty’s staged model but also propose refinements, including reclassifying the initial stage as a “previous scam victim/vulnerable moment” and adding a final stage termed “discombobulation.” The analysis identifies a range of criminal strategies used to manipulate and control the victim, such as deception, paltering, persuasive techniques drawn from Cialdini, and grooming processes. New elements highlighted in this case include positive framing, unconditional positive regard, and the manipulation of identity roles (altercasting), sleep deprivation, and the practice of inducing a state in which the victim signs documents and carries out tasks that facilitate drug trafficking. The study also emphasizes how multi-channel communication and rapid self-disclosure contribute to a hyper-personal, trust-based dynamic. The authors conclude that the case yields both replication of known scam mechanisms and novel insights into the tactics that can lead a victim to participate in drug trafficking unknowingly. They argue for a refined, broader model of “the scammers’ strategies” and note the implications for future research and court cases, while acknowledging limitations inherent in studying a single case.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
Previous cyberscam research has generally not examined the textual exchanges between victims and offenders in depth. The paper also identifies limited understanding of romance-scam cases in which victims are unknowingly recruited as drug mules, because few such cases have been reported.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
This qualitative single-case study examined a middle-aged woman arrested for drug trafficking after a romance scam. The researcher conducted repeated interviews with the victim, her legal team, and family members, and analyzed instant-messenger logs and email communications between the victim and offender(s). Using a grounded theory approach informed by Strauss and Corbin, alongside thematic analysis, the study compared the case with an existing romance-scam stage model and identified offender strategies.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The evidence is based on one anonymized case, limiting transferability to other romance-scam victims and drug-mule cases. The number and identities of offenders were unknown. Some interpretations of offender intent, including whether travel mishaps were deliberate distractions, are framed as likely rather than directly established. The victim’s details were deliberately withheld to preserve anonymity.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Apply the revised strategy model, including the “previous scam victim/vulnerable moment” and “discombobulation” stages, to additional romance-scam and other scam cases. Examine whether discombobulation is distinctive to victims unknowingly used as drug mules.

          

              

    
    

        
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