Understanding Romance Fraud: Insights From Domestic Violence Research

Cross, Cassandra; Dragiewicz, Molly; Richards, Kelly

doi:10.1093/bjc/azy005

Cited by 56 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…It is also important to differentiate romance fraud from a bad relationship (Cross et al 2018). Not all relationships that end badly can be considered as romance fraud, with the key distinction evident in the establishment of the relationship.…”

Section: What Is Romance Fraud?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is no genuine relationship from the beginning. The modus operandi for romance fraud is distinct from those who enter other relationships (Cross et al 2018). It can also be differentiated from catfishing, or "the phenomenon of internet predators that fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people into emotional/romantic relationships (over a long period of time)" (Urban dictionary cited in Hartney 2018, p. 281).…”

Section: What Is Romance Fraud?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Romance fraud (also known as dating and relationship fraud or sweetheart swindles) can be defined as instances where "criminals pretend to initiate a relationship via an online dating site or social networking site with the intention to defraud their victims" (Whitty 2013b, p. 666) as well as "instances where a person is defrauded by an offender/s through what the victim perceives to be a genuine relationship" (Cross et al 2018(Cross et al , p. 1304. The combination of these definitions highlights the main characteristics of romance fraud: the first being the development of a perceived genuine relationship and the second being the ultimate goal of financial gain on the part of the offender, through the mechanism of the relationship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the prevalence and impact of romance fraud globally, there has been little scholarly attention directed to this category of victimization (Cross et al 2018). This chapter provides an overview of what is currently known about romance fraud.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Romance Fraud

Cross

2020

The Palgrave Handbook of International Cybercrime and Cyberdeviance

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Romance fraud devastates the lives of millions of victims globally. Under the guise of a legitimate relationship, offenders seek to exploit an emotional connection with victims to fund their financial gain. Romance fraud is particularly insidious, with victims having to grieve not only any financial harm but also the loss of the relationship. Despite the magnitude of victims globally and the severity of the impact of these crimes, there is little research targeted at better

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Section: What Is Romance Fraud?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Is Romance Fraud?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Romance Fraud

Cross

2020

The Palgrave Handbook of International Cybercrime and Cyberdeviance

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“…When victims try to leave an abusive relationship, social media may be used by their abusers to track them down or to continue dominance through humiliation such as by posting revenge porn. Beyond coercive control, technology may be used to manipulate victims in the form of romance fraud (Cross, Dragiewicz, & Richards, 2018). Through romance fraud, abusers convince victims that they are in a romantic relationship with the victim so that the victim will send the abuser money, allowing technology to be used for economic abuse.…”

Section: Gaslightingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Polite Abuser: Using Politeness Theory To Examine Emotional Abuse

Alvarez¹

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Over the last few decades more and more cultural attention has been paid to intimate partner violence, especially emotional abuse. Follingstad, Rutledge, Berg, Hause, and Polek (1990) established that emotional abuse fell into six distinct categories; however, little attention had been paid to how abusers can utilize polite communication to hurt their partner. Equally, Brown and Levinson's politeness theory (1987) had never been applied to problematic communication until Austin's (1990) face attack acts model. This study aimed to understand how polite communication can be used as a form of emotional abuse. In-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants who self-identified as having been in a former romantic relationship with a partner who hurt their feelings, made them feel bad about themselves, or manipulated them. The utterances were categorized according to Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory and Austin's (1990) face attack acts model of politeness. The utterances used by both abusers and their victims were then analyzed using thematic analysis. Abusers used all six of Austin's face attack act strategies, and victims responded using three of Brown and Levinson's four politeness strategies. Each strategy resulted in themes that abusers would utilize to hurt their partner. Implications of the study, limitations, and future research are then discussed.

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

Barnor

2024

Journal Invest Psychology

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This study examined mechanisms that influence romance fraud perpetrators' public display of affluence, an aspect of romance fraud research that has received little attention in the literature. The study collected data through semi‐structured interviews with eight offenders from two Ghanaian cybercrime hotbeds and three law enforcement officials, using a qualitative research approach based on the critical realist paradigm. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis, which revealed that the social environment, peer influence, links with high‐net‐worth individuals (upper structure clientelism), the involvement of social media and collaboration with some corrupt state officials all had a substantial influence on cybercriminals' public display of wealth. Furthermore, upper structure clientelism shows systemic flaws in financial institutions that must be addressed in order to reduce online romance fraud. The significance of social media in fostering public displays of wealth emphasises the importance of education and awareness initiatives as preventative measures. To effectively prevent online romance fraud, law enforcement should prioritise interagency cooperation and transparency among governmental institutions.

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Understanding Romance Fraud: Insights From Domestic Violence Research

Cited by 56 publications

References 37 publications

Romance Fraud

Romance Fraud

The Polite Abuser: Using Politeness Theory To Examine Emotional Abuse

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

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