“It is a common misconception that this type of crime only affects ‘certain types of people’,” says Maja Feng, a research fellow at the Norwegian Police University College and the University of Oslo.
She has recently published an article on online romance scams and fraud in the Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing. The article is part of a larger, ongoing doctoral thesis on grooming and social manipulation in crimes of deception via digital media (see the fact box).
“Online romance scams and fraud are a growing form of crime.”
Feng describes it as a systematic form of psychological manipulation.
“Furthermore, educational level appears to have no impact on susceptibility.”
In the article, she has analysed Norwegian and international research literature on the subject and “grey literature”, i.e. literature that has not been peer-reviewed, published by a publisher or in a journal. The aim was to identify factors, both risk and protective factors, that can make people more or less susceptible to being defrauded. She also discusses societal prevention, protection and support for the victims of this type of crime.
Parallels to domestic violence
Feng is particularly interested in ensuring that people who have fallen prey to romance fraud are treated in the most considerate way.
“It is essential not to moralise, place the blame on and shame individuals who have fallen victim to a romance scammer,” she explains.
She believes that online romance scams and fraud should be regarded as more than just financial crime.
“It is of course a matter of deception and fraud, resulting in a financial loss. But it also involves relational and psychological exploitation,” claims Feng, likening the phenomenon to domestic violence and intimate partner violence.
In the article, she relates the story of a person who has been the victim of romance fraud:
“Four and a half months after meeting him through a Norwegian online dating service, Tove took out a loan of NOK 320,000 and sold her car. The result was a financial loss of NOK 380,000 to the man she thought was the love of her life. Looking back, she described the experience as a form of psychological abuse and said that she had been manipulated and controlled by 'David', who abused her trust.”
- Maja Feng’s article “Online Romance Fraud as a Form of Emotional and Economic Partner Violence: A Social-Ecological Framework of Enabling Factors” (2025) has been published in a special issue of the Nordic Journal of Studies in Policing.
- The article is part of an ongoing doctoral project on grooming and social manipulation in crimes of deception via digital media.
- According to the researcher, grooming is an umbrella term for preparatory acts in which adult perpetrators build up trust over time with the aim of exploiting the victim, for example financially, sexually or in some other way.
- In her thesis, she identifies and investigates the underlying mechanisms, enabling factors and consequences of romance scams and fraud against adults, and sexual abuse and assault against children and young people, perpetrated via the internet.
The techniques used
According to Feng, the perpetrators combine relationship building and social manipulation with practical strategies to avoid being found out.
“As soon as a perpetrator realises that the victim suspects something or that the scam is about to be exposed, they usually break off contact. They simply move on to the next target,” she adds.
She explains that the research literature describes the process as a form of intensive, long-term trust building operation – often referred to as ‘grooming’, which includes a range of preparatory actions.
“Contact is often established via dating websites or social media. This is followed by a period of ‘love bombing’ with frequent communication, lots of compliments and plans for their future together: promises of love, marriage and a life together.
The situation gradually escalates. Next, the perpetrator starts testing whether the trust has been established and is strong enough.
“After the perpetrator has invested time in building up the victim’s trust, often in the form of small requests, and the timing feels right, a crisis narrative is usually introduced,” Feng explains.
“It might be illness, an accident, legal problems or challenges related to travel and documentation.
This is when they ask for money.”
“The victim has been manipulated and convinced that this is a serious romantic relationship based on true love.”
Isolate the victims
Feng acknowledges that the process may seem incomprehensible to outsiders.
“Seen from the outside, it may sound unbelievable that anyone would allow themselves to be defrauded by this form of crisis narrative and deception. However, there has usually been a long and systematic process beforehand. The victim has been manipulated and convinced that this is a serious romantic relationship based on true love.”
She says that many perpetrators also work actively to isolate their victims. The research literature she has studied describes how the techniques used have much in common with domestic violence, intimate partner violence and coercive control.
“For example, they use linguistic and emotional strategies to portray the outside world as suspicious or hostile: ‘they don’t understand what we have’, ‘It’s just the two of us’, or ‘Don’t you trust me anymore?’”
According to Feng, these kinds of phrases can make the victim less inclined to seek advice or support.
No clear type of victim
Feng says that the research literature shows that the perpetrators are often part of a criminal network and that the fraud is carried out in groups.
Is there a typical victim of this type of crime?
“I'm always a little wary of talking about a ‘typical perpetrator’ or ‘typical victim’. This can lead to stigmatisation,” Feng emphasises.
“The research literature shows that there is wide variety in both the perpetrators and victims of this type of fraudulent crime. It is generally more about situations, and the perpetrators exploiting deeply human vulnerabilities, as opposed to specific types of people.”
She explains that the victims are often people who are in a vulnerable phase of life, such as, after a break-up or the death of a loved one, and who are grieving, lonely or stressed.
Resource-rich women particularly at risk
According to the research, highly educated women are typically an “ideal target” for online romance scams and fraud. But not for the reasons most people might think.
“I wouldn’t say that women are inherently more susceptible. The vulnerability and risk factors associated with middle-aged women with higher education being particularly susceptible are complex. There are always a multitude of factors at play,” stresses Feng.
“Firstly, the majority of the perpetrators are men. When the scam is built up on a foundation of a narrative of romantic partnership and life-long love, the research literature shows that the target group is often women.”
In addition, the research also reveals that certain personality traits can increase susceptibility, according to Feng.
“Examples include people who are particularly trusting, romantically inclined and who are looking for a serious relationship.
Some of these traits may be more common among women.”
In addition to a high degree of trust, degree of digitalisation and affluence also play a role: “When perpetrators are looking for a ‘suitable target’ online, they seek out contact based on visibility on digital platforms. They often look for indicators that their potential targets are reasonably well off, such as a high level of education.
“In this article, I explore romance scams and fraud in the affluent, digitalised Nordic countries with generally high levels of public trust. This context, combined with the fraudsters’ manipulative relationship-building strategies, means the Nordic countries are an ‘ideal target’ and present good opportunities for exploitation, Feng points out.
Large unreported figures
According to Feng, there is a lack of reliable statistics on how many people are affected by romance scams and fraud in Norway.
“The police have some figures, but the police data are currently not of sufficient quality to form the basis for robust research findings.
The numbers are small, and it is assumed that there are many unreported cases.
The research literature shows that victims of romance scams and fraud feel shame, blame themselves and often experience moralisation from the people around them and the system. Feng assumes that these factors cause many people not to report the matter to the police.
“Falling prey to romance fraud can be a huge psychological burden. International research shows that some victims have even had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide as a result of being defrauded.”
“There is a need for closer collaboration between dating websites, social media, the financial sector and the police.”
More than just financial crime
Feng holds that there is a need for the authorities to provide general information about this issue to the public, as well as more targeted communication aimed at particularly susceptible groups.
“People need to be aware that this type of crime exists, and they also need to be able to identify typical warning signs and methods.”
The researcher believes that lessons can be learnt from the work on prevention of domestic violence and intimate partner violence.
“Information campaigns have been used to spread awareness about typical patterns and underlying mechanisms. The same could be done for online romantic fraud.”
She is also calling for better controls and collaboration in the digital sphere.
“The lack of responsible ‘gatekeepers’ is a challenge. There is a need for closer collaboration between dating websites, social media, the financial sector and the police.”
Among the possible measures Feng mentions are better routines for reporting fake profiles, faster identification of patterns, and the ability to remove suspicious accounts.
“In addition, low-threshold reporting and frontline training are crucial. The police, the labour and welfare administration, crisis teams, health services and bank employees must be able to recognise the patterns, crisis narratives and interpersonal manipulative dynamics that characterise this type of crime,” she says.
“They must also treat people who have fallen prey to this kind of crime as victims, without moralising, blaming or stigmatising.”
Difficult to regulate
Lars Roar Frøyland is a researcher at Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) at OsloMet, affiliated with the Section for Youth Research.
His research interests include grooming aimed at children and young people. Like online romance fraud, this type of crime is often portrayed as an online phenomenon or a form of digital harassment.
Frøyland believes that online grooming – be it aimed at children or adults – requires political intervention.
“New technology and digital platforms enable new forms of crime. But not enough of the responsibility is placed where it belongs,” he claims.
He thinks the large, international technology companies that operate the platforms where the offences take place need to do more.
“These are companies that operate across national borders, making it difficult to regulate them. The global community must, however, demand that requirements be set,” he adds.
Unclear legal boundaries
Frøyland agrees with Feng that the lack of gatekeepers is a major problem.
Who do you think should have the role of gatekeeper in these digital spaces?
“That’s the problem – it’s really complicated,” replies Frøyland.
Frøyland points out that online romance fraud differs from grooming targeting children. According to him, it is more difficult to see the warning signs when the communication is between adults.
“Some technology companies have introduced flagging and alert procedures, but these tend to work better in areas with clear legal boundaries: such as when a person under the age of 18 is chatting to an adult about sexual matters.
“Then it is clear that a line has been crossed.”
