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Exploring Fear of Crime for Those Targeted by Romance Fraud

Cross, C. ; Lee, M. (2022) — Victims & Offenders

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DOI: 10.1080/15564886.2021.2018080 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Australia
Tags:   Australia, Fear Of Crime, Identity Crime, Online Fraud, Romance Scams, Scamwatch, Victim Support, Victimization
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Synopsis

            
This exploratory thematic study examined 3,259 distinct, de-identified romance-fraud reports submitted to Australia's Scamwatch portal from July 2018 through July 2019. Researchers used NVivo to identify 104 reports showing explicit or inferred fear, then coded affective, behavioral, cognitive, and altruistic dimensions. Fear extended beyond the online setting and included concern for physical and family safety, identity misuse, reputational harm, and future vulnerability; direct threats were prominent in affective-fear accounts. The analysis shows that romance fraud can produce fear spanning digital and offline life, not just financial loss. Optional fields, uneven narratives, self-selection, and the small fear-related subset mean the data cannot estimate the prevalence of fear among all people targeted.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The paper identifies little prior work on fear-of-crime dynamics specifically in romance fraud and no known research explicitly examining how targeted people experience it. It also notes that the relationship between existing financial/non-financial harms and fear of crime has not been considered. The prevalence of fear, less acute experiences, and victims’ fear-reduction actions and their effectiveness remain unclear.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
Exploratory qualitative thematic analysis of de-identified Scamwatch romance-fraud reports submitted from 1 July 2018 to 31 July 2019. From 4,354 reports, the authors retained 3,259 distinct reports after consent-based access and duplicate removal. NVivo was used to identify 104 free-text reports evidencing explicit or inferred fear of crime, then analyze them through affective, behavioral, cognitive, and altruistic-fear themes. The dataset also contained complainant demographics, fraud details, losses, and vulnerability indicators.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
Self-reported online reports cannot support generalization. Scamwatch could not screen, interact with, or guide complainants; most fields were optional, producing missing data and uneven free-text detail. The 104 fear-related cases were a small, selected subset and strict coding may have excluded less extreme fear. Lack of reported fear or protective actions does not establish their absence, and the data cannot estimate fear prevalence among all people targeted by romance fraud.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Directly ask people who experienced romance fraud about fear of crime to estimate its prevalence more accurately. Examine what actions victims take to reduce fear, whether those actions work, and how to empower victims to restore safety and wellbeing. Develop appropriate post-fraud support to aid recovery and reduce ongoing victimization.

          

              

    
    

        
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