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Cited by 25Cybercrime and Law Enforcement StudiesCriminal Justice and PenologyLanguage, Discourse, Communication Strategies

Confirm Not Command: Examining Fraudsters’ Use of Language to Compel Victim Compliance in Their Own Exploitation

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Carter, Elisabeth·2023·The British Journal of Criminology
DOI 10.1093/bjc/azac098
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Abstract

Abstract Using discourse analysis to examine exchanges between fraudsters and victims in telephone-mediated frauds, this research examines the interactional techniques used by perpetrators of fraud to gain and maintain compliance from their victims, without causing them alarm. It reveals how compliance is secured and maintained in a process of establishing the relationship, grooming the victim and setting expectations of follow-through. Reimagining traditional understandings of fraud victimization and vulnerability, this work exposes how social and interactional norms are replicated and manipulated by fraudsters in order to compel individuals to be drawn into participating in an alternate, exploitative reality that is indistinguishable from safety; quashing a victim’s ability to recognize the situation as harmful and rendering any motivation to escape as nonsensical. In doing so, this paper questions the efficacy of public fraud protection guidance strategies and delivers evidence for the need to change the present approach to understanding and tackling fraud victimization and complicity.

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Crossref · 10.1093/bjc/azac098

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  • Recent work exploring the language of fraudulent communications and the behaviours of perpetrators of domestic abuse and coercive control supports this.

    “This is supported by recent work that explores the language and the effect of language used in fraudulent communications, as well as the behaviours of perpetrators of domestic abuse and coercive control (Carter 2023).”

    From The Language of Romance Crimes (2024) · cites this paper as Carter 2023

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Authors
Carter, E.
Affiliations
Kingston University London (GB)
Corresponding author
Carter, Elisabeth
ORCID
Carter, Elisabeth
Venue
The British Journal of Criminology
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2023-01-25
Volume
63
Issue
6
Pages
1405-1422
ISSN
  • 0007-0955 (ISSN-L)
  • 1464-3529
DOI
10.1093/bjc/azac098
OpenAlex
W4317914829
Cited by
25
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3
FWCI
3.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • The British Journal of Criminology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Research Repository (Kingston University London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies
Keywords
fraud, fraudsters, telephone fraud, grooming, social norms, fraud victimization, victim complicity

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