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The Trajectory of Romance Scams in the U.S

Herrera, LD. ; Hastings, J. (2024) — 2024 12th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS)

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DOI: 10.1109/isdfs60797.2024.10527224 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Proceedings Article
Country:   United States
Tags:   Financial Loss, Media Coverage, Offender Tactics, Platform Policy, Prevention, Research Mapping, Romance Scam Trends, Victim Experience, Victim Reporting
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Synopsis

            
Romance scams inflict financial and emotional harm by defrauding victims under the pretense of meaningful relationships. The study explores trends of RS in the United States through a quantitative synthesis of diverse sources, including web search activity, news coverage, scholarly publications, and government reports, covering 2004 through 2023. It marks the first effort to integrate multiple data streams for RS trend analysis. The analysis reveals that public interest and media attention surrounding romance scams have grown over time, even as reports of incidents to authorities have recently declined. Although the body of RS-focused research has expanded, the majority of work remains oriented toward documenting the problem rather than developing concrete remedies. The findings point to an escalation of RS activity despite a drop in official reports, a mismatch that is likely driven by low rates of victim reporting. These results underscore the need for heightened awareness to encourage reporting, which in turn would enable more accurate data to inform policy decisions. They also indicate that future research should place greater emphasis on developing techniques to counter these crimes. With improved awareness, preventive measures, and responses guided by more reliable data, the rising threat of romance scams may be mitigated.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The reviewed literature primarily documents the romance-scam problem rather than developing solutions. The paper identifies few available prevention methods and a lack of technical countermeasures. Existing trend literature had not used alternative public data sources to establish romance-scam trajectories. Official reporting data may substantially underrepresent victimization because reporting is low.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
The study converted mixed-source qualitative and quantitative material into quantitative trend analysis for 2004–2023. It analyzed U.S., English-language Google Trends searches; scraped Google News metadata; manually screened Google Scholar and ProQuest publications with substantial romance-scam content; and examined FBI IC3 and FTC reports. It compared changes in searches, news, publications, reported victims, and losses.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
Google Trends has recognized data-consistency concerns. News results were screened through metadata only: 12,006 retained articles were not individually reviewed. Trend conclusions rely on proxy indicators such as web searches, media coverage, and reported cases, while official data are affected by substantial underreporting. The study's search analysis was restricted to English-language U.S. searches.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Develop and evaluate techniques that counter romance scams, including prevention beyond awareness messaging. Adapt prevention messages to changing tactics, including anticipated AI and deepfake-enabled deception. Improve reporting awareness and reporting-data accuracy so policy and responses are better informed.

          

              

    
    

        
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