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The charade of discreetness: Exploring the paradoxical lifestyles of romance fraudsters

Barnor, J. (2024) — Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling

DOI: 10.1002/jip.1637
Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Ghana
Tags:   law enforcement, AI misuse, prevention, measurement, romance fraud, offender lifestyles, peer influence, social media, wealth display, corruption, financial laundering

Synopsis (AI-Generated)

This article investigates the mechanisms that shape why romance fraud perpetrators publicly display wealth, a line of inquiry that has received limited attention in prior research. The study gathered data through semi-structured interviews with eight offenders drawn from two Ghanaian cybercrime hotbeds and supplemented these insights with perspectives from three law enforcement officials. Employing a qualitative framework grounded in critical realism, the researchers analyzed the data via thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns and explanations behind ostentatious affluence. The aim was to illuminate the social and structural forces that drive offenders to project wealth in public contexts. The analysis identifies several interwoven factors that influence the public display of wealth by cybercriminals. The social environment and peer influence emerged as substantial determinants, as did ties to high-net-worth individuals described through the lens of upper-structure clientelism. Additional significant contributors include the role of social media in amplifying displays of wealth and the involvement of some corrupt state officials through collaborative arrangements. Taken together, these factors suggest that the display of affluence is not simply a personal choice but is shaped by broader networks, incentives, and opportunities within the illicit ecosystem and its interaction with legitimate institutions. The findings point to systemic weaknesses in financial institutions, encapsulated by the notion of upper-structure clientelism, as an area that requires attention to curb online romance fraud. The study also underscores the critical function of social media in enabling public displays of wealth, highlighting the potential value of education and awareness campaigns as preventative measures. From a policy and practice perspective, the results imply that more effective prevention hinges on enhanced interagency collaboration and greater transparency among governmental institutions. Strengthening communication channels and reducing information asymmetries across agencies may help dismantle the networks that support wealth display and, by extension, the broader activity of online romance fraud.

Identified Gaps (AI-Generated)

The paper identifies limited empirical research based on primary data from romance-fraud offenders. It notes that victim-focused studies dominate the field, leaving offender motivations, behaviours, and techniques unclear. It also identifies a need to examine cultural characteristics, social networks, family structures, and psychological factors that shape offender behaviour, especially in West African contexts.

Methods (AI-Generated)

A critical-realist qualitative study in Ghana used purposive sampling and semi-structured in-person interviews with eight romance-fraud offenders from two cybercrime hotspots and three law-enforcement officials. Interview material was thematically analysed through iterative inductive-deductive coding, supplemented by abductive and retroductive reasoning. Law-enforcement interviews were used to triangulate offender accounts.

Limitations (AI-Generated)

The study is based on a small purposive sample from two Ghanaian cybercrime hotspots, so findings concern a specific offender subgroup and context. Interviews with offenders about illicit conduct may be affected by access, ethical, and disclosure constraints, which the paper recognises as challenges in this research area. Research data are not shared, limiting independent re-analysis.

Future Work (AI-Generated)

Study online romance fraud across different cultural contexts; examine how technological advances change offender methods; and conduct longitudinal research on offender trajectories and intervention effectiveness over time.

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AI-Generated Content Notice

The synopsis and research notes on this page were generated with AI from available publication information and, when available, the uploaded paper text. They may contain errors, omissions, or interpretation issues. Readers should follow the DOI or source link, review the original publication, and make their own judgment about the content.

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