It is an interesting read and sums up everything that is already on this website. I do not agree with their statement on page 5, paragraph 2 of the document that states, The online dating romance scam emerged around 2007
(This website was founded in 2005. So I feel comfortable saying that online romance scams have been going on for a very long time now.) . . . For those reading this document, you may find some things you also do not agree with and other things you can relate to. The study is divided into three main components:
1. Typology of the victims of the online romance scam
2. Analysis of the victims' accounts placed on the internet
3. Interviews with the victims
On page 13, Figure 2, entitled Progression of Communication, summarizes how communication with the scammer evolves as trust is gained. The summary of the Romance Scam Trajectories on page 14 identifies three different types of trajectories that a scam may take.
The anatomy of a scam was presented as well as the 'Scammers Persuasive Techniques Model' that the researchers developed to explain the success of online dating romance scams. Page 15 discusses the development of the 'Scammers Persuasive Techniques Model'. According to the researchers, other theories of persuasion do not completely explain the success of these scams.
Financial and non-financial victims were included in this research. As well, the researchers state, 'In the past the criminal's writing was quite poor - this is no longer the case. The crime originated in West African countries (Nigeria and Ghana); however, it is now believed that criminals are scattered around the globe'. (I have to comment on writing and grammar. There were 2 to 3 -- or more -- individuals I spoke with during my scam. One had perfect English and grammar, while the others did not.)
Here is the link to the pdf. The pdf is also downloadable at the link below.
https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/media ... report.pdf
There are a couple of acronyms in the document which were not clearly identified. I was able to determine what they were.
ICTs = Information and Communication Technologies (used throughout the document)
FtF = Face to Face (page 13, Figure 2)