Contextualised Cyber Security Awareness Approach for Online Romance Fraud
Abstract
Action Fraud reported 50 million pounds was lost to romance fraud in 2018, a 27% increase on the previous year, despite an increase in publicity and guidance surrounding the issue. Romance fraud is an ever-increasing issue, and the statistics highlight the need for a proactive, adaptable, and bespoke approach to assist online dating platforms in combatting the problem, providing targeted awareness to customers while improving the user experience of dating platforms. Currently, there is no effective approach for increasing user awareness and providing real-time intervention on romance fraud. Existing methods on the platform focus on identifying, preventing, and stopping threat actors with technological measures rather than educating potential victims. This paper discusses the existing state of romance fraud and proposes a solution to mitigate the problems by developing a targeted awareness approach. The solution can be adopted by online dating platforms for early identification and timely intervention. It includes bespoke advisory messages to be provided to the user and risk categorisation criteria as well as workflows and prototypes to assist platforms with implementation. The results from the primary research clearly support the objectives showing that timely intervention helps to mitigate against fraud, decreasing the likelihood of it occurring. This approach offers demonstrable improvements to dating platforms.
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None of the participants in the control group interacted with the educational information, while all participants in the experimental group engaged with the training material referenced by the warning messages.
“Although none of the participants in the control group interacted with the educational information, all the participants in the experimental group engaged with the training material referenced by the warning messages.”
From Tainted Love: a Systematic Literature Review of Online Romance Scam Research (2023) · cites this paper as Dickerson et al. (2020)
Warning messages contextualized advice on how to spot scammers made available by dating sites and public entities.
“Furthermore, warning messages contextualized advice on how to spot scammers made available by dating sites and public entities.”
From Tainted Love: a Systematic Literature Review of Online Romance Scam Research (2023) · cites this paper as Dickerson et al. (2020)
Dickerson et al.'s study identified that contextualized warning messages helped increase user awareness and decrease risky behaviour.
“Their study identified that contextualized warning messages helped increase user awareness and decrease risky behaviour.”
From Tainted Love: a Systematic Literature Review of Online Romance Scam Research (2023) · cites this paper as Dickerson et al. (2020)
In most models, an online romance scam begins with the initiation of contact.
“In most models, an online romance scam begins with the initiation of contact (e.g., Anesa, 2020; Dickerson et al., 2020).”
From Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams (2026) · cites this paper as Dickerson et al., 2020
Increasingly, AI-generated images-commonly known as deepfakes-are being used in scam profiles.
“Increasingly, AI-generated images—commonly known as deepfakes—are being used (Cross, 2022; Dickerson et al., 2020; Wiederhold, 2024).”
From Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams (2026) · cites this paper as Dickerson et al., 2020
The information collected during reconnaissance is used to tailor the scammer's profile and contact strategy to the specific characteristics of the target.
“The collected information is then used to tailor the scammer’s profile and contact strategy to the specific characteristics of the target (Dickerson et al., 2020; Wang & Zhou, 2023).”
From Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams (2026) · cites this paper as Dickerson et al., 2020
Grooming includes sending documents and photos to enhance credibility and connection.
“Sending documents and photos (5e) to enhance credibility and connection (Dickerson et al., 2020; Smeitink, 2021);”
From Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams (2026) · cites this paper as Dickerson et al., 2020
Cites
The online disinhibition effect
Suler, J. (2005) · International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies · doi:10.1002/aps.42 · Cited by 640 · see citing works
The online dating romance scam: causes and consequences of victimhood
Buchanan, T., & Whitty, M. T. (2014) · Psychology, Crime & Law · doi:10.1080/1068316x.2013.772180 · Cited by 229 · cited 3× · see citing works
“An overall increase in the number of attempted romance scams has resulted in an increased risk of falling victim, particularly if the threat actor uses sophisticated deception techniques and a particularly vulnerable victim is targeted [13].”
BackgroundInfluentialWhitty, M. T., & Buchanan, T. (2016) · Criminology & Criminal Justice · doi:10.1177/1748895815603773 · Cited by 200 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Many fake profiles also state that the threat actor is in the military, providing them with a reasonable excuse as to why they cannot meet up or communicate via phone or video call [6].”
BackgroundInfluentialDo You Love Me? Psychological Characteristics of Romance Scam Victims
Whitty, M. T. (2018) · Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0729 · Cited by 177 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Additionally, research indicates that victims of romance fraud typically have an increased disposition to trust, making it easier for the intimate connection with the scammer to be built [16].”
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Lazarus, S., Whittaker, J. M., McGuire, M. R., & Platt, L. (2023) · Journal of Economic Criminology · doi:10.1016/j.jeconc.2023.100013 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Tainted Love: a Systematic Literature Review of Online Romance Scam Research
Bilz, A., Shepherd, L. A., & Johnson, G. I. (2023) · Interacting with Computers · doi:10.1093/iwc/iwad048 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Love as Bait: A Scoping Review and Crime Script Analysis of Online Romance Scams
Schokkenbroek, J. M., & Snaphaan, T. (2026) · Trauma, Violence, & Abuse · doi:10.1177/15248380251361046 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“In most models, an online romance scam begins with the initiation of contact (e.g., Anesa, 2020; Dickerson et al., 2020).”
Influential
- Authors
- Dickerson, S., Apeh, E., & Ollis, G.
- Affiliations
- Bournemouth University (GB)
- ORCID
- Apeh, Edward
- Venue
- 2020 7th International Conference on Behavioural and Social Computing (BESC)
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2020-11-05
- Pages
- 1-6
- OpenAlex
- W3135755953
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 0.38
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- International Conference on Behavioral, Economic, and Socio-Cultural Computing (publishedVersion)
- Bournemouth University Research Online (Bournemouth University) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Spam and Phishing Detection
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information and Cyber Security
- Keywords
- romance fraud, cybersecurity awareness, dating websites, fraud prevention, victim education, risk classification, real-time intervention, user experience, fraud reduction
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