Romance Scam Research Center

A systematic literature review of profiling victims of cyber scams: setting up a framework for future research

Whitty, MT. (2025) — Cogent Social Sciences

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

This article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of research profiling victims of cyber scams, aiming to establish a framework for future studies. The review was motivated by the rapid global growth of cyber sc...

An Anatomy of ‘Pig Butchering Scams’: Chinese Victims’ and Police Officers’ Perspectives

Han, Bing; Button, Mark (2025) — Deviant Behavior

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

This article analyzes the hybrid romance–investment scam known as “pig butchering” (Sha Zhu Pan, 杀猪盘) from the perspectives of Chinese victims and police officers. Unlike traditional romance scams, pig butchering fuse...

Fraud as Legitimate Retribution for Colonial Injustice: Neutralization Techniques in Interviews with Police and Online Romance Fraud Offenders

Lazarus, S.; Hughes, M.; Button, M.; Garba, KH. (2025) — Deviant Behavior

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

This catalog-style study investigates the rhetorical framing surrounding fraud as a form of legitimate retribution for colonial injustice. The analysis situates online romance fraud and related encounters with law enforc...

Policing cross-border fraud ‘Above and below the surface’: mapping actions and developing a more effective global response

Button, Mark; Hock, Branislav; Suh, Joon Bae; Koh, Chol Soo (2025) — Crime, Law and Social Change

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: platform policy, AI misuse, measurement, cross-cultural

Cross-border fraud represents a global challenge, spanning forms such as online retail fraud, pyramid schemes, romance fraud, and pig butchering. While there is clear evidence that these abuses are expanding across borde...

Romance Scams and Older Adults: A Health and Social Care Perspective

Sorinmade, Oluwatoyin; Emmett, Charlotte; Elugbadebo, Olufisayo; Okolo, Chidera (2025) — Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, psychology, older adults Populations: older adults

The proliferation of online interaction has expanded opportunities for connection and encounter, alongside increasingly sophisticated forms of exploitation. This article centers on romance scams as a significant threat,...

Strategic business movements? The migration of online romance fraudsters from Nigeria to Ghana

Lazarus, S.; Button, M.; Garba, KH.; Soares, AB.; Hughes, M. (2025) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

This catalog entry surveys the topic of cross-border movement among actors involved in online romance fraud, focusing on a shift from Nigeria to Ghana. The article situates the phenomenon within the broader field of econ...

The effect of true crime docuseries on romance fraud reporting to the police

Grant, S.; Buil-Gil, D. (2025) — Crime Science

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, platform policy, AI misuse, prevention

Romance fraud is a crime in which an individual is deceived for financial gain by someone they believe to be a romantic partner. Despite its reach and impact on victims, this form of wrongdoing remains markedly underrepo...

Therapeutic but toxic spaces: Romance fraud victimization from a psychosocial perspective

Yoshida, Y. (2025) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

Therapeutic but toxic spaces: Romance fraud victimization from a psychosocial perspective is positioned within economic criminology to explore how intimate-deception operates at the junction of individual psychology and...

Are fraud victims nothing more than animals? Critiquing the propagation of “pig butchering” (Sha Zhu Pan, 杀猪盘)

Whittaker, Jack M.; Lazarus, Suleman; Corcoran, Taidgh (2024) — Journal of Economic Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom

The article explores the growing phenomenon of romance scams as a particularly harmful form of cybercrime that exploits emotional vulnerability for financial gain. The authors position romance scams within the wider land...

HeartGuard VR: Immersive Romance Scam Education

Lea, O.; Shepherd, LA.; Szymkowiak, A. (2024) — Lecture Notes in Computer Science

Type: Book Chapter Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, social engineering

This piece examines HeartGuard VR: Immersive Romance Scam Education within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the literature, describes how offenders...