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The Use of Military Profiles in Romance Fraud Schemes

Cross, C. ; Holt, TJ. (2021) — Victims & Offenders

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DOI: 10.1080/15564886.2020.1850582 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Australia
Tags:   Advance Fee Fraud, Financial Loss, Military Impersonation, Online Dating, Prevention, Romance Scams, Scamwatch, Social Media
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Synopsis

            
The study used mixed methods to analyze de-identified Scamwatch romance-fraud reports supplied by Australia's ACCC, filed July 2018-July 2019. After removing 204 duplicates, 3,259 reports were available; listwise-deleted quantitative models used 2,478 cases, including 375 military-narrative complaints. Military narratives combined distinctive deployment-based pretexts with conventional advance-fee and romance-fraud tactics, rather than constituting a stand-alone romance-fraud category. Military profiles exploit trust and positive attributes associated with the profession. Scamwatch self-reports have no screening or human interaction, limiting generalizability; complainants may not represent romance-fraud victims generally.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
Before this study, no empirical research had specifically examined military profiles/narratives in romance fraud or AFF. It was unknown whether military narratives had distinct characteristics or mirrored established romance-fraud and advance-fee-fraud (AFF) schemes. The study also identified difficulty predicting monetary loss from demographic characteristics and uncertainty about whether military fraud constitutes a stand-alone romance-fraud category.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
Mixed-methods analysis of de-identified Scamwatch romance-fraud reports supplied by Australia’s ACCC, filed July 2018–July 2019. After removing 204 duplicates, 3,259 reports were available; listwise-deleted quantitative models used 2,478 cases, including 375 military-narrative complaints. Logistic regressions examined correlates of military narratives and reported financial loss. Researchers thematically analyzed free-text narratives from 463 military-identity reports in NVivo, coding reasons for money requests and military-specific storylines.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
Scamwatch self-reports have no screening or human interaction, limiting generalizability; complainants may not represent romance-fraud victims generally. Reports contained missing demographic and narrative information, requiring listwise deletion in quantitative analyses. Reported financial losses could not be verified, so a binary loss measure was used. Several self-reported measures, including personal/bank-detail loss and vulnerability indicators, lacked explanatory definitions or authentication. Qualitative theme counts reflect available narrative detail, not necessarily absence of themes.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Evaluate and strengthen continuous prevention messaging that encourages skepticism of online profiles and not sending money after online requests. Develop and assess automated platform measures to detect, quarantine, filter, or delete suspicious social-media profiles and private messages. Further research should publicize offender techniques and how they exploit victims, including misuse of military goodwill.

          

              

    
    

        
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