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A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding Internet Love Scams: Implications for Law Enforcement

Majeed Khader ; Poh Shu Yun (2017) — The Psychology of Criminal and Antisocial Behavior, chapter 18, pp.523–548

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DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-809287-3.00018-3 (opens in a new tab)

Country:   Global
Tags:   Digital Forensics, Internet Love Scams, Law Enforcement, Prevention, Romance Scams, Underreporting, Victim Vulnerability
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Synopsis

            
This publication presents a multidisciplinary examination of Internet love scams with the aim of informing law enforcement practice. It frames Internet love scams as a cyber-enabled, organized crime type that uses online dating services, chat rooms, and social networks to identify, groom, and defraud victims. The authors adopt a CLIP profiling approach, integrating criminalistics and forensic science, legal/local issues, investigative and operational considerations, and psychological/behavioral sciences to build a structured understanding of the crime and its victims and perpetrators. The chapter describes the perpetrators’ typical modus operandi, including false online identities, cultivating emotional connections, and steering victims to private communications, followed by financial demands. It notes common scam variants such as parcel love schemes and sex-video blackmail, and discusses how scams can unfold over weeks, months, or even years. The authors emphasize that victims often suffer emotional harm and that reporting is frequently low, contributing to uncertainties about the true incidence of these crimes. The work also covers the legal landscape and cybercrime provisions relevant to Internet love scams, particularly within Singapore, and highlights enforcement tools such as digital evidence recovery, timeline reconstruction, and interview strategies. Practical implications center on crime prevention, investigation, and victim-interview techniques. Recommendations include designing victim-centered reporting processes, employing liaison with health professionals for vulnerable victims, using open-ended interviewing and active listening, and applying cognitive interviewing concepts like the PEACE model. The chapter also cautions about limitations such as underreporting and the challenges of establishing physical crime scenes in cyberspace, while suggesting checklists and awareness-raising as preventive measures. The synthesis aims to ground future policing and policymaking in empirical, multidisciplinary insights.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
Official prevalence is likely underestimated because many victims do not report, often owing to embarrassment and fear of negative judgment. The chapter also identifies evidentiary and attribution difficulties arising from dispersed digital crime scenes and perpetrators operating separately from victims.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
This chapter is a multidisciplinary narrative review organized through the CLIP profiling framework: criminalistics/forensics, legal and local issues, investigative and operational considerations, and psychological/behavioral science. It synthesizes prior empirical research, official guidance, laws, reports, and illustrative cases to develop profiles and practical recommendations.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The chapter does not report original data collection, sampling, or systematic review procedures. Its conclusions synthesize heterogeneous prior studies, agency materials, news reports, and illustrative cases, so the strength and generalizability of individual claims cannot be assessed from the chapter alone.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Future research should evaluate whether scam-awareness checklists, reporting pathways, accredited dating services, and trauma-informed investigative approaches increase prevention and reporting or improve victim outcomes.

          

              

    
    

        
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