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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
HUMANITIES & SOCIAL STUDIES
Tackling Online Dating Scams and Fraud
1. Introduction
This report is written for both the consumption of the general public and forensics companies that focuses mainly
on fighting cybercrime, fraud, and corruption. Recently, there has been a rise in romance scams as a form of cybercrime.
Due to the shift in socialisation and dating from the conventional way to a computer-mediated approach, this report on
online dating scams with a specific emphasis on its causes, consequences, and mitigation measures.
The goals of the report are first achieved by a discussion on the definition of online dating scams. It will also outline
of how the frauds occur and who are the intended victims. The report will then go on to discuss the various causes of
online dating scams, followed by the consequences of the scams. It also will look at approaches that can be utilised to
mitigate the crime. Lastly, the report will provide a conclusion of the topic and offer suitable recommendations for the
same.
2. Overview of Online Dating Scams
2.1. Definition of Online Dating Scams
Online dating scam/fraud is a form of financial extortion carried out by individuals or organised groups using
romance strategies to lure their victims via online dating sites (Buchanan & Whitty, 2014, p. 261). Current reports about
this crime thus do not reflect the true nature of the situation. Singh and Jackson (2015) attribute the sprouting of these
scams due to the interconnected nature of the cyberspace all over the globe (p. 482). It thus creates a ready platform for
malicious individuals to access their potential victims both within and beyond borders. Indeed, there are cases of people
defrauding their romantic partners or potential partners. The internet has made it possible for this crime to be committed
internationally on an industrial scale (Button et al. 2014, p. 391).
2.2. How Online Dating Scams and Fraud Occurs
Online dating scams occur via traditional dating sites and apps such as Zoosk, all social media platforms such as
Facebook WhatsApp and other electronic medium of communication like emails. The fraudsters create false personal
profiles of themselves and pretend to befriend their potential victim (Jakobsson & Yen, 2015, p. 2). They then create an
illusion of strong friendship between them and their victims until trust is established. At the point of trust, the fraudsters
then conjure a myriad of reasons to get financial ‘assistance’ from their online partners (Hamsi et al. 2015, p. 172). They
start asking for small gifts and amounts before gradually progressing to ask for huge sums (Buchanan & Whitty, 2014, p.
261). In some instances, the fraudsters collaborate to defraud the victim where some act as relevant third-parties to the
‘relationship’ such as friends, relatives, lawyers or doctors. This plays out as a well-orchestrated money-minting scheme
from unsuspecting online victims who are too emotionally involved to notice the fraud (Whitty, 2015, p. 445). In some
cases, victims can be lured into visiting specific areas in the hope of making a rendezvous with their online partners. They
Ignatius Hua Nyam
Lecturer, Department of Liberal Studies/Directorate of Policing Training
Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil-Kano State- Nigeria
Abstract:
This report is aimed at critically analysing the phenomenon of online dating scams and fraud in the United Kingdom, it
causes, consequences, and mitigation measures using international initiatives. The findings of this report showed that
the leading causes of romance scams are greed, lack of knowledge on cybersecurity, poverty, poor personality traits, and
sensation seeking. It made revolutions of its consequences as financial losses, psychological torture of the victims, the risk
of blackmail and loss of trust and suicides. The primary mitigation strategies identified include educating victims on the
merits and demerits of online dating, offenders to face the full wrath of the laws, proper staff training of the investigation
firms. Ensure proper punitive measures are followed to the conclusion and installation of appropriate detection software
for active tracking of perpetrators. The need for proactive approaches in curtailing the menace of online dating scams
and frauds is emphasised. Also, a call on the law implementation agencies to raise up to the challenge thereby remedying
the psychological effect trauma victims and third, provisions of prompt online gadgets of detecting this crime will put a
permanent solution to this fraud.
Keywords: Dating, scam, fraud, romance, victim
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are kidnapped instead and robbed of their possessions (Buchanan & Whitty, 2014, p. 261). The fraud goes on as long as the
ignorance of the victim.
2.3. Targeted Victims
Almost everyone using an online dating site, social and electronic media platforms to look for a partner is at risk of
being scammed. The online scene is simply a prime target for organised fraudsters because of the rapidly increasing
international traffic on the web. Facebook alone had registered over one billion users by 2013, and billions are using
emails, (Button et al. 2014, p. 392). There are however more vulnerable groups. They tend to be single, lonely and
desperate people. This subset craves so much for love, friendship, and attention hence tend to easily trust online ‘friends’
without doing the necessary background checks or meeting face-to-face (Hamilton, 2016, p. 145). Older people make up
the most of this group that craves for relationships. They also happen to be the ideal target for scammers because they are
desperate for romantic relationships and probably have significant savings. According to Whitty (2018), most victims tend
to be women who are well-educated and middle-aged. They are prone to addiction and impulsive behaviour (p. 105).
2.4. Causes of Online Dating Scams
2.4.1. Greed
This factor can be discussed in two ways. One is the greed illustrated by fraudsters who go as far as establishing
organisations aimed and studying and scamming unsuspecting online victims for their money. Another aspect is the greed
of the victims themselves (Whitty& Buchanan, 2015, p. 183). One of the modes of operation of the scammers is to create
the profiles of people who have potential to get wealthy. A common tactic used is to pose as the heir of a wealthy person.
The fraudsters then dupe their victims into believing that a hefty inheritance is on the way which would be shared by the
‘couple’. The victims end up falling into the trap of the tricksters because of their greed for money.
2.4.2. Ignorance
Whitty (2015) believes that knowledge about cybersecurity is an important factor affecting the susceptibility to
romance scams (p. 446). According to a study conducted by the scholar, people perceived to have less information about
the intricacies of cybercrime were more vulnerable to scams than those who had adequate knowledge of cybersecurity.
2.4.3. Poverty
This factor can also be discussed in two ways. One is that the criminals may be trying to get themselves out of
poverty by scamming people online. Even though this is not a justifiable reason, it still is a factor. Poverty leads people to
commit crime and cybercrime is just one form of that (Lhatoo, 2017, n.p). Another way to explain this is how the
fraudsters use poverty to create convincing storylines. Stefanovic (2017) explains how people are deceived by online
fraudsters who claim to hail from poor backgrounds. Most of them claim to come from countries known to have high
poverty levels like Cameroon and Nigeria. The scammers create moving narratives of how they are being kicked out of
their homes or lack of necessities so that their online ‘partners’ sympathise with them and send financial ‘aid.’ (Stefanovic,
2017)
2.4.4. Sensation Seeking
People who are highly sensitive are referred as less emotionally intelligent individuals. This group of people are
predisposed to emotional commitments and attachments. They derive their happiness from being emotionally involved
with other people. This group is at high risk of online scams because the culprits craft their messages and conversations in
such a way that the victims are sucked in emotionally (British Psychological Society (BPS), 2016, n.p). The main tool of the
scammers is emotional trust. Once that is achieved, the financial extortion part becomes incredibly easy. Individuals who
are highly sensitive and crave for emotional attachments are thus easy prey for online dating scams.
2.4.5. Personality
Williams et al. (2017) believe that several components of personality influence one’s susceptibility to online
scams; self-awareness, self-control, and self-deception (p. 413). Self-awareness is the ability of individuals to use their
values and principles to make decisions. High self-awareness enables one to resist enticing influences of fraudsters while
individuals with low self-awareness are more likely to be duped by fake online lovers. This is because they will be looking
for emotional validation from them. Most of the online scams happen when the victims are engaged in online
‘relationships’ that escalate too quickly. People with a high degree of self-control, however, tend to analyse every step they
take even in relationships. Individuals who have a predisposition to self-deception are likely to fall prey to love scams. Self-
deception is the tendency to believe in a false truth despite overwhelming contradictory evidence (Williams et al. 2017, p.
414). Only individuals who deceive themselves believe that it is right to send huge sums of money to people that they have
not seen face-to-face.
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2.5. Consequences of Online Dating Scams
2.5.1. Financial Implications
Looking for love has never been costlier than illustrated by the financial losses incurred as a result of the scams. In
2016, the United States Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that they had received reports of 15,000 cases of
romance scams that suffered cumulative losses of more than $210 million
known as Romancescam.or
g reported financial losses of more than $25 million
created, Brenoff (2017) claims that the situation is worse than documented.
and embarrass
ed to report incidences of being scammed. The author also cites the possibility of international terrorist
groups such as the Boko Haram using online dating scams to finance their operations.
Figure 1: Financial Implications of Online Scams in America
Figure 2: Financial Implications of Online Scams in the UK
2.5.2. Emotional Distress
Whitty and Buchanan (2012) reveal the severity of the extent of the online dating scam in the UK by
more than 230,000 citizens have been affected by the crime (p. 181). Victims typically experience immense emotional
distress due to the fraud. Some victims even claim that the emotional and psychological pain is much worse than the
financial loss (Finkel et al. 2012, p. 3)
2.5.3. Risk of Blackmail
Unfortunate victims land themselves in deeper trouble when the scammers blackmail them by threatening to
release intimate photographs and tapes of the victims
for the victims. According to Brenoff (2017), the
2.5.4. Risk of a Repeated Occurrence
The most challenging
part for the victims is processing and moving on from the disaster. It has
most victims do not have sufficient
support structures and coping mechanisms.
their experiences with their friends and close relatives due to the feeling of great shame (Ell, 2017). Some victims are so
poor at coping with bad incidences that they go into denial (Cross, 2016).
themselv
es that the scam did not happen or if it did, they still believe that the connection between them and their
scammers was genuine.
This is a perilous approach as it
2.5.5. Loss of Trust and Suicide
Victims of online dating scams are reported to
morale of finding love. Notably, this has led to people failing to find love or even giving up on finding partners (Ell,
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Looking for love has never been costlier than illustrated by the financial losses incurred as a result of the scams. In
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that they had received reports of 15,000 cases of
romance scams that suffered cumulative losses of more than $210 million
(Bindley, 2018, n.p)
g reported financial losses of more than $25 million
(Hembree, 2017)
created, Brenoff (2017) claims that the situation is worse than documented.
This
is because most victims are too ashamed
ed to report incidences of being scammed. The author also cites the possibility of international terrorist
groups such as the Boko Haram using online dating scams to finance their operations.
Figure 1: Financial Implications of Online Scams in America
Source: (Ell, 2017)
Figure 2: Financial Implications of Online Scams in the UK
Source: The Guardian
Whitty and Buchanan (2012) reveal the severity of the extent of the online dating scam in the UK by
more than 230,000 citizens have been affected by the crime (p. 181). Victims typically experience immense emotional
distress due to the fraud. Some victims even claim that the emotional and psychological pain is much worse than the
Unfortunate victims land themselves in deeper trouble when the scammers blackmail them by threatening to
release intimate photographs and tapes of the victims
(Huang et al. 2009, p. 3). This
adds to more psychological distress
for the victims. According to Brenoff (2017), the
psychological
impact alone can drive victims to
part for the victims is processing and moving on from the disaster. It has
support structures and coping mechanisms.
First, it is very tough for them to
their experiences with their friends and close relatives due to the feeling of great shame (Ell, 2017). Some victims are so
poor at coping with bad incidences that they go into denial (Cross, 2016).
This
is where the victims try to convince
es that the scam did not happen or if it did, they still believe that the connection between them and their
This is a perilous approach as it
leaves the victims exposed to a second bout of exploitation.
Victims of online dating scams are reported to
lose
trust in online dating services in addition to also losing the
morale of finding love. Notably, this has led to people failing to find love or even giving up on finding partners (Ell,
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Looking for love has never been costlier than illustrated by the financial losses incurred as a result of the scams. In
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that they had received reports of 15,000 cases of
(Bindley, 2018, n.p)
. An online dating site
(Hembree, 2017)
. Despite the grim picture
is because most victims are too ashamed
ed to report incidences of being scammed. The author also cites the possibility of international terrorist
Whitty and Buchanan (2012) reveal the severity of the extent of the online dating scam in the UK by
stating that
more than 230,000 citizens have been affected by the crime (p. 181). Victims typically experience immense emotional
distress due to the fraud. Some victims even claim that the emotional and psychological pain is much worse than the
Unfortunate victims land themselves in deeper trouble when the scammers blackmail them by threatening to
adds to more psychological distress
impact alone can drive victims to
suicidal actions.
part for the victims is processing and moving on from the disaster. It has
been noted that
First, it is very tough for them to
share
their experiences with their friends and close relatives due to the feeling of great shame (Ell, 2017). Some victims are so
is where the victims try to convince
es that the scam did not happen or if it did, they still believe that the connection between them and their
leaves the victims exposed to a second bout of exploitation.
trust in online dating services in addition to also losing the
morale of finding love. Notably, this has led to people failing to find love or even giving up on finding partners (Ell,
2017).
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Moreover, as a result, some victims of online dating scams have been reported to resorting to suicide due to the trauma
they experience same. Some individuals take their lives due to the failure of finding love and the distress got from online
scams (Cross, 2016,).
3. Mitigating Strategies
3.1. Adequate Education of the Members of the Public on Scams Tricks
The victims should be educated on how to stay alert to potential scammers and how to identify them. Various
scholars have outlined deceptive clues to look out for when looking out for a scammer on a dating site. Online users who
are quick to fall in love and tend to be aggressive in the initial stages of the relationship are likely to be scammers (Grimes,
2018). Grimes (2018) also warns victims against online ‘friends’ based in foreign countries especially when they have
never been met face to face. Other common red flags to look out for are people who have near perfect profiles and also
tend to ask for financial assistance every time.
3.2. Adequate Litigation Approaches on the Perpetrators
Law enforcement agencies must take the initiative to put measures in place for proper investigation of cases of
online dating scams (Pouryousefi & Frooman, 2017, p. 7). Since this crime occurs via the cyberspace, it requires unique
resources in Information Technology experts to help track down the criminals involved. The agencies should also view the
internet as a medium for receiving customer complaints instead of just sticking with the traditional means of investigation
(Whitty& Buchanan, 2015, p. 176).
3.3. Proper and Sufficient Training of Staff
The staff employed by online dating sites, law enforcement agencies, and e-transfer websites should be well trained
on how to detect online fraudsters and report them. They must be alert to common red flags such as abnormal funds
transfers to overseas accounts. The staff should also get adequate training in customer relations to enable them to offer
practical communications to potential victims especially when warning them of potential fraudsters.
3.4. Effectivedetection Systems
There should be robust online detection systems in funds transfers done over the internet (Atkins & Huang, 2013,
p. 26). They should alert users to the risks involved when they detect unusual transfer activities. Email platforms and
online dating sites should also set up systems for reporting, investigating, and exposing fraudsters. This will prevent the
scammers from preying on multiple victims using the same platforms. There must also be collaboration among various
sites in reporting frauds to prevent the scammers from migrating to other sites to exploit victims.
4. Conclusion
Technological advancements are simplifying the tasks performed by individuals with every innovation. The
internet, for instance, has greatly revolutionised global interconnections. Social interactions are now shifting to the
cyberspace, and so is dating. Despite their benefits, online dating sites have been exploited by fraudsters to extort money
from unsuspecting victims in the name of romance. When trust is established, the scammers begin soliciting for favours in
the form of finances from their ‘partners’. This trend continues until the victims realise the scam or when they have gone
too far to the extent of being blackmailed, abused or kidnapped. Most of the victims targeted are middle-aged to older
individuals who are lonely, single and desperate for love.
There are several reasons behind the propagation of online scams. An individual’s greed of sharing the wealth
with a specificwealthy online partner is one of the reasons. Poverty also drives desperate individuals into cybercrime that
involves romance scams. Some victims are affected because they did not know any better. While their desire to have
emotional attachment trap others.
Warped romantic beliefs are also a significant factor behind online dating scams. These incidences leave behind a
great deal of emotional and financial distress for the victims. The problem is compounded with poor coping skills among
the victims. Educating victims on how to spot and avoid online fraudsters is an excellent place to start in reducing the
incidences. Law enforcement agencies should also be well-resourced and capacitated to deal with cybercrime. Dating sites
and social networking sites should improve their detection systems to enable them to identify scammers proactively.
5. Recommendations
• A call to action for scholars and researchers in the field of psychology to improve the research on comprehensive
psychological profiles of susceptible victims to online romance frauds.
• Law enforcement agencies should introduce early detection and warning systems against online romance scams.
• There is a need to improve the research on how to boost the accuracy of fraud detection systems in online
platforms. This report has provoked further research on innovative fraud detection systems. These systems must
be able to carry out a thorough profile analysis to differentiate the genuine users from the frauds. The detection
systems must also have the capacity to spot detect potentially fraudulent transactions and warn the victims.
• Keep chats restricted to the website or app. It isessential to keep all discourse control to the messaging facilities
on the website. If conversations kept strictly on the site, scammers are unlikely to aim users, because they know
the dating site will identify their behaviour.
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• Block anyone suspicious on the dating site user’s behaviour can be scrutinised, so if someone becomes abusive or
inappropriate, the site can respond accordingly.
• Laws should to enacted to ensure strict and stringentpunitive measure for perpetrators.
• The systems should prove useful for the victims such that they do not feel stigmatized (Moore, 2016). The officers
involved in receiving the reports from the victims should not treat them as less intelligent individuals. Romance
scams can affect anyone. A much better strategy is the introduction of an anonymous reporting system on the
internet to get information from victims who are too ashamed to report in person.
6. Funding
I received no financial support to write this report.
7. Conflict of Interest
I had no personal interest or intention of writing this report. There has been public outcry on the rampant cases of
online dating scam and fraud. Consequently, this report is to attract the attention of policy makers to adopt measures
aimed at educating members of the public to avoid being victims of this unfortunate activities of fraudsters.
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