Skip to main content

The client’s consent strengthens the ‘Gamers’ hand; The deterrence theory’s perspective of the Internet romance fraudsters.

Lomatey Toku ; Martin Otu Offei (2023) — International Journal of Technology and Management Research

View Original Source (opens in a new tab)

DOI: 10.47127/ijtmr.v8i1.164 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Ghana
Tags:   AI-Enabled Fraud, Criminal Intention, Cross Cultural, Deterrence Theory, Ghana, Internet Romance Fraud, Law Enforcement, Measurement, Offenders, Pls Sem, Punishment, Shame, Victim Experience
What do these research terms mean?
Preprint
A manuscript shared before formal peer review and publication. Check whether a later published version is available.
Dataset
A collection of data or examples for others to inspect or reuse. It can appear in Library search and topic mapping, but RSRC does not use dataset records as evidence in Research Insights.
Dissertation or thesis
Research submitted for an academic degree. This describes its format, not its reliability.
Journal article
An article published in a journal. This label alone does not establish peer review, study quality, or how well the findings apply elsewhere.
Qualitative research
Examines experiences, meanings, or processes, often through interviews or observations. It can explain how something happens without estimating how common it is.
Quantitative research
Uses numerical measurements to describe patterns or test relationships. A relationship between two measurements does not by itself show that one causes the other.
Systematic review
Uses a planned, documented method to find and assess research addressing a question. Its conclusions still depend on the included studies and what the search covered.
Meta-analysis
Statistically combines results from multiple studies. Combining studies does not remove weaknesses in their design or make unlike populations interchangeable.
Not classified
This record has no recognized label in this filter. It does not mean the publication used no method, or that no research exists.

Definitions draw on DataCite resource types; Cochrane review methods; NLM: association and causation. RSRC’s dataset and classification rules are explained in our methodology.

Citation tools
Download RIS Download BibTeX 


              
              

            

          

        


      

      

    

        
Transparency

        
Evidence and review status

        
This page contains AI-generated content. No human content review or subject-matter-expert review is recorded.

    


    

                    

                
Source basis

                

                    Downloaded PDF
                

            

                    

                
Source updates

                

                    No notice found at last check
                

            

                    

                
AI-generated page content

                

                    Yes
                

            

                    

                
Automated checks

                

                    Passed
                

            

                    

                
Administrative approval

                

                    Yes
                

            

                    

                
Human content review

                

                    Not recorded
                

            

                    

                
Subject-matter-expert review

                

                    Not recorded
                

            

            


    

        
            How this was prepared
        
        

                            

                    
Source basis

                    

                    
RSRC downloaded and privately stored a copy of the paper for internal analysis. The PDF is not offered to viewers from this page.


                                            
    
                                                            
  • 
                                    PDF added to RSRC:
                                    
                                
    • 
                                                    

                    
                                        

                

                            

                    
Source updates

                    

                    
No incoming update notice was found in the dated Crossref response. Coverage is incomplete, particularly for corrections and expressions of concern; this is not a guarantee that the source is valid or unchanged.


                                            
    
                                                            
  • 
                                    Last source-status attempt:
                                    
                                
    • 
                                                    

                    
                                        

                

                            

                    
AI-generated page content

                    

                    
AI-generated research notes displayed on this page: Synopsis, Identified gaps, Methods, Limitations, Future work. The paper itself is not described as AI-generated.


                                            
    
                                                            
  • 
                                    Document analysis recorded:
                                    
                                
    • 
                                                            
  • 
                                    Page record updated:
                                    
                                
    • 
                                                    

                    
                                        

                

                            

                    
Automated checks

                    

                    
The current, source-bound synopsis passed the recorded versioned publication checks.


                                            
    
                                                            
  • 
                                    Checks completed:
                                    
                                
    • 
                                                    

                    
                                            

                            
                                View passed checks (3)
                            
                            
    
                                                                    
  • Length, completeness, repetition, refusal, boilerplate, and active-markup screening
    • 
                                                                    
  • Numerical claims checked against the available source text
    • 
                                                                    
  • English-source lexical grounding check
    • 
                                                            

                        

                                        

                

                            

                    
Administrative approval

                    

                    
The record is approved for public display, but a complete historical administrator action is not recorded.


                    
                                        

                

                            

                    
Human content review

                    

                    
No human review is recorded for the AI-generated content displayed on this page.


                    
                                        

                

                            

                    
Subject-matter-expert review

                    

                    
RSRC has not recorded review of this content by a subject-matter or methods expert.


                    
                                        

                

                    

    


    

        Review-state definitions

        Found a possible error?
        Request a correction.
    



    



              

        
                  

            
Synopsis

            
This study surveyed 320 alleged internet-romance-fraud offenders recruited through internet-cafe and university-campus hotspots in Ghana using convenience and snowball sampling. A five-point questionnaire measured certainty and severity of punishment and shame, intention to offend, and self-reported fraud; the authors analyzed relationships with partial least-squares structural equation modeling. Punishment certainty and severity had significant negative relationships with offending intention, while shame dimensions were negative but not significant; intention was positively related to reported actual fraud. The results distinguish formal deterrence from informal shame in this sample, but they do not show that punishment changes caused behavior. Nonprobability hotspot recruitment, self-report by a hidden population, one national context, and omission of sanction speed limit inference.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The paper identifies contradictory deterrence findings across crime contexts, limiting direct transfer of prior results to internet romance fraud. It excludes celerity because conviction takes time in this crime, leaving timing of sanctions unexamined. Its discussion also indicates a need for evidence on effective detection, prosecution, and user/platform measures against romance fraud.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
The study surveyed 320 alleged internet romance fraudsters (“gamers”) recruited from validated internet-café and university-campus hotspots in Ghana. It combined snowball and convenience sampling because the population is secretive and anonymous. A 5-point Likert survey measured shame certainty/severity, punishment certainty/severity, fraud intention, and actual defraud. Measures were validated through meetings with 18 practitioners and two information-systems experts, followed by a pilot. The authors used reliability/validity tests and PLS-SEM/SmartPLS to model deterrence dimensions, intention, and actual fraud.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The secretive, anonymous nature of romance fraud meant the offender population could not be identified and required nonprobability convenience and snowball sampling. Participants were recruited from Ghanaian hotspots, which may constrain generalizability beyond these settings. Measures were self-reported by alleged offenders, creating potential response and social-desirability concerns. The model omitted deterrence celerity because convictions take time, so it does not test the effect of sanction speed.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Future studies could test the deterrence model across additional crime and national contexts, given the paper’s stated cross-context contradictions. They could also examine celerity and assess whether stronger detection, prosecution, and platform-focused interventions alter offenders’ intentions or behavior.

          

              

    
    

        
Related Research Insights

        

            See how this publication connects to RSRC's living evidence syntheses through current citations and research-topic mapping.