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“What action should l take?”: Help-seeking behaviours of those targeted by romance fraud

Wesley Meikle ; Cassandra Cross (2024) — Journal of Economic Criminology

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DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconc.2024.100054 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Australia
Tags:   Australia, Fraud Victims, Help Seeking, Reporting, Romance Scams, Scamwatch, Support Services, Thematic Analysis, Victim Blaming
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Synopsis

            
This study examined help-seeking in 3,259 de-identified romance-fraud reports submitted to Australia's Scamwatch portal from July 2018 through July 2019. Thematic coding identified help-seeking in 908 narratives and distinguished explicit from implicit requests and personal-justice from altruistic motives. Explicit personal-justice requests were most common, followed by implicit personal-justice requests; some complainants instead sought to warn others or prevent identity misuse and harm to family or friends. The findings challenge the assumption that shame and victim blaming make romance-fraud targets uniformly averse to seeking help. Because reports were self-selected, unverified, uneven, and not prompted specifically about help-seeking, the study likely underestimates such behavior and cannot represent all victims.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The paper identifies a dearth of research on romance-fraud victimisation and help-seeking. It also identifies limited Australian services for fraud victims, apart from iDcare. The Scamwatch-only data cannot establish whether complainants received desired assistance elsewhere, leaving post-reporting outcomes and cross-agency support pathways unclear.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
The study conducted thematic analysis of de-identified free-text Scamwatch reports lodged in Australia between 1 July 2018 and 31 July 2019. From 4,354 dating/romance-fraud reports, 3,259 non-duplicate consented reports were analysed. All narratives were assessed for help-seeking; 908 were identified. First- and second-cycle coding classified explicit/implicit help-seeking and personal-justice/altruistic motivations, alongside victim-blaming narratives.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
Self-reported Scamwatch data are not representative of all romance-fraud victims and likely reflect self-selection by people aware of, able to access, and able to complete the English-language portal. Free-text entries varied greatly and were not elicited with help-seeking prompts, likely underestimating help-seeking. Reports were unverified and may omit help sought through other agencies. Findings apply only to Scamwatch reporters during the specified period.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Develop and expand direct, trauma-informed support mechanisms for people targeted by romance fraud, including services that can respond to financial and non-financial needs. Examine whether Scamwatch complainants obtain desired assistance from other agencies and improve pathways so victims can contact an agency able to assist directly.

          

              

    
    

        
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