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Anatomy of the online dating romance scam
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Whitty, Monica T. (2015) Anatomy of the online dating romance scam. Security Journal, 28 (4). pp. 443-455. doi:10.1057/sj.2012.57 ISSN 0955-1662.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/sj.2012.57
Abstract
The Online Dating Romance Scam is a relatively new form of online fraud. This article draws from three qualitative studies: an analysis of posts from a public online support group, in-depth interviews with victims of this crime and an interview with a Serious Organised Crime Agency officer to outline the anatomy of this scam. It is argued here that there are five distinct stages of this crime. In Stage 1, the criminal creates an attractive profile to draw in the victim; in Stage 2, the criminal grooms the victim, priming them to send money; in Stage 3, the criminal begins to request funds from the victim (there a four potential trajectories at this stage); in Stage 4, which only a few went through, the victim is sexually abused via cybersex; and finally Stage 5 is the revelation. Understanding the anatomy of this scam is important for prevention as well as psychological treatment.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Engineering > WMG (Formerly the Warwick Manufacturing Group) | ||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Internet fraud, Online dating, Single women -- crimes against -- Interviews, Single men -- crimes against -- Interviews, Single people -- crimes against -- Interviews | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Security Journal | ||||||
Publisher: | Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. | ||||||
ISSN: | 0955-1662 | ||||||
Official Date: | October 2015 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 28 | ||||||
Number: | 4 | ||||||
Page Range: | pp. 443-455 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1057/sj.2012.57 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 6 December 2016 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 6 December 2016 | ||||||
Funder: | Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC) | ||||||
Grant number: | RES-000-22–4022 |
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