Romance Scam Research Center

Digital Deception: Online Fraud Targeting the Elderly – Patterns, Mechanisms, and Policy Responses

Carter, Wendy (2025)

Type: Journal Article Country: Australia Tags: victim experience, psychology, older adults, platform policy, AI misuse, prevention Populations: older adults

This piece examines Digital Deception: Online Fraud Targeting the Elderly – Patterns, Mechanisms, and Policy Responses within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns do...

Does age matter? Examining seniors’ experiences of romance fraud

Cross, Cassandra; Holt, Thomas J. (2025) — Security Journal

Type: Journal Article Country: Australia Tags: victim experience, older adults, AI misuse, risk factors Populations: older adults

Romance fraud centers on offenders who present a believable romantic connection to persuade victims to surrender money. Although research on romance deception has expanded, there is limited exploration of how victims’ de...

Factors Influencing Involvement in Cyber-Frauds in West Africa and the Implications for Policy

Button, Mark; Lazarus, Suleman; Hock, Branislav; Bugbilla Sabia, James; Pandey, Durgesh; Gilmour, Paul (2025) — European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research

Type: Journal Article Country: United Kingdom Tags: victim experience, law enforcement, platform policy, AI misuse, prevention, measurement Methods: interview

This article examines cyber-frauds and scams as a significant problem linked to West Africa, particularly Nigeria and Ghana, and explores how such activity spreads beyond the perpetrators themselves. Drawing on 36 interv...

Forgiveness-Seeking Behaviors Among Online Romance Fraudsters: Insights from Sakawa Actors in Ghana

Abubakari, Y. (2025) — International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology

Type: Journal Article Country: Poland Tags: victim experience, AI misuse

The study investigates forgiveness-seeking behaviors among online romance scammers operating in Ghana, concentrating on how Sakawa practitioners grapple with moral guilt. By applying Moral Disengagement Theory alongside...

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

Lazarus, Suleman; Hughes, Mariata; Button, Mark; Garba, Kaina Habila (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...

Impact of Cybersecurity Self-Efficacy on Digital Economic Behaviors Among Older Adults

Kim, Sohee (2025) — INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing

Type: Journal Article Country: South Korea Tags: victim experience, older adults, AI misuse, risk factors, prevention Populations: older adults

This piece examines Impact of Cybersecurity Self-Efficacy on Digital Economic Behaviors Among Older Adults within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in...

Law Enforcement Against Perpetrators Of Romance Fraud In Cyberspace

Munir, Miftahul (2025) — Proceedings of the First International Cyber Law Conference, ICL-C 2023, 11 November 2023, Jakarta, Indonesia

Type: Proceedings Article Country: Indonesia

This piece examines Law Enforcement Against Perpetrators Of Romance Fraud In Cyberspace within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the literature, des...

Leveraging Naive Bayesian Machine Learning for Detecting Pig Butchering Scams: A Cybersecurity Social Engineering Perspective in Africa

Diallo, Ousmane; Hassan, Hasnani; Najeeb Zaidan, Muslim (2025) — The 5th International Scientific Conference on Administrative and Financial Sciences (CIC-ISCAFS'2025)

Type: Proceedings Article Country: Malaysia Tags: victim experience, psychology, AI misuse, social engineering, prevention, measurement

This piece examines Leveraging Naive Bayesian Machine Learning for Detecting Pig Butchering Scams: A Cybersecurity Social Engineering Perspective in Africa within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communic...

Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams

Schokkenbroek, JM.; Snaphaan, T. (2025) — Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

Type: Journal Article Country: Netherlands Tags: victim experience, offender tactics, platform policy, AI misuse, prevention

This piece examines Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams within the broader context of online fraud and mediated communication. It outlines common patterns documented in the li...

Love Scam as a Manifestation of Online Gender-Based Violence: Aligning Legislation to Ensure Victim Protection

Maulidia Mulyani (2025) — Istinbath : Jurnal Hukum

Type: Journal Article Country: Indonesia Tags: victim experience, psychology, AI misuse, measurement Methods: interview, content analysis, secondary data, qualitative

Love scams have emerged as a notable form of gender-based violence within Indonesia’s digital sphere, drawing attention to harms that extend beyond financial loss to include psychological distress. This article seeks to...