Rationalizing Online Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender

Full text

Association for Information Systems Association for Information Systems
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)
AMCIS 2020 Proceedings Information Security and Privacy (SIGSEC)
Aug 10th, 12:00 AM
Rationalizing Online Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender Rationalizing Online Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Jonathan Nii Barnor Barnor
University of Ghana Business School
, jnbbarnor@st.ug.edu.gh
Richard Boateng
University of Ghana Business School
, richboateng@ug.edu.gh
Emmanuel Awuni Kolog
University of Ghana Business School
, eakolog@ug.edu.gh
Anthony Afful-Dadzie
University of Ghana Business School
, aafful-dadzie@ug.edu.gh
Follow this and additional works at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2020
Recommended Citation Recommended Citation
Barnor, Jonathan Nii Barnor; Boateng, Richard; Kolog, Emmanuel Awuni; and Afful-Dadzie, Anthony,
"Rationalizing Online Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender" (2020).
AMCIS 2020 Proceedings
. 21.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2020/info_security_privacy/info_security_privacy/21
This material is brought to you by the Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) at AIS Electronic
Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in AMCIS 2020 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@aisnet.org.

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
1
Rationalizing Online Romance Fraud: In the
Eyes of the Offender
Completed Research
Jonathan Nii Barnor Barnor
University of Ghana Business School
jnbbarnor@st.ug.edu.gh
Richard Boateng
University of Ghana Business School
richboateng@ug.edu.gh
Emmanuel Awuni Kolog
University of Ghana Business School
eakolog@ug.edu.gh
Anthony Afful-Dadzie
University of Ghana Business School
aafful-dadzie@ug.edu.gh
Abstract
This study seeks to understand romance scam from the offenders' perspective and how they rationalize
their motivations, opportunities and abilities towards the commission of the crime. To this end, we adopt
the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability framework and the Rationalization dimension of the Fraud Triangle
Theory. The study employed a qualitative methodological approach to analyze the opportunities presented
by emerging technologies to cyber fraudsters amid socio-economic drivers. One is the interplay of various
socio-economic factors being a major driving force behind the commission of cybercrime. These include
peer recruitment and training, poverty, unemployment, low level of education and low income. The
uniqueness of this study stems from the fact that it deviates from previous studies to investigate cybercrime
from the perspective of the perpetrators. Again, this study is arguably one of the first to put all three
dimensions of the MOA framework and the rationalization dimension of the Fraud Triangle to study
romance scammers' behaviors.
Keywords
Cybercrime, Romance Scam, Motivation, Opportunity, Ability, Rationalization.
Introduction
Cybercrimes are considered global crimes; they transcend geographical boundaries and can be perpetuated
from anywhere against any individual, any organization and any technology (Donalds and Osei-Bryson
2019). Among the many forms of cybercrime is online romance scams (also called online dating scams or
sweetheart swindles), which became apparent around 2008 and had its root in paper-mail based fraud
(Whitty and Buchanan 2012). CNN (2019) for instance, reports that online romance scams cost Americans
more than any other reported fraud in 2018. In 2018 alone, more than 21,000 vulnerable people were
conned into sending $143 million in online romance scam cases from a reported $88 million in 2017. It is
therefore not surprising that the internet has become a breeding ground for romance scammers, especially
considering the spectrum of the growing market in that form of cybercrime. Apart from the financial losses,
romance scam victims are also left with emotional and psychological damages to battle (Kopp et al. 2015;
Luu et al. 2017).
Extant literature have studied the subject of online romance scam from various perspectives (Buchanan
and Whitty 2014; Luu et al. 2017; Suarez-Tangil et al. 2019; Whitty 2013). For example, Buchanan and
Whitty’s (2014) study on causes and consequences of online dating scam victimhood made use of 853 online
daters who completed a battery of online questionnaires. The finding of the study suggested that there are
emotional as well as financial consequences of victimhood, and many people may be severely affected even

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
2
if they do not lose money. Again, Luu et al. (2017) in a study that aimed at addressing issues of online dating
fraud from an empirical risk mitigation approach suggested that an online dater's assessment of the
protective mechanism (and protective response) generally has a more considerable influence on adopting
protective behavior than the evaluation of the scam itself. Nonetheless, the authors aver that issues of online
dating fraud have yielded increasing attention from diverse disciplines, though studies remain scarce.
Particularly, investigation of romance fraud from a risk mitigation and information systems approach has
been neglected.
Despite the growing body of studies in cybercrime and online romance scam for that matter, there seem to
be a number of issues that can influence future research. First, the gaps in the literature point to the fact
that there appears to be a dominance of studies on the various forms of online romance fraud from various
disciplines (Kopp et al. 2015) while online romance scams in the field of information systems remain sparse.
Again, extensive evaluation of the foregoing research revealed that most online romance scam studies had
studied the phenomenon from the victim's perspective (see table 1). Hence, studies that consolidate the
perpetrators' perspectives on the commission of internet romance crimes arguably remain scant. This study
therefore seeks to address the objective of understanding the triggers of online romance fraudsters'
behaviors. Thus, evaluating the motivational, opportunities and the abilities of the perpetrators and how
they rationalize these triggers.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The next section highlights a brief overview of online
dating romance. The following sections present the theoretical foundation on which this study is based. We
discuss the methodology for the study, followed by a summary of findings, and we conclude with
discussions, conclusion and implications.
Online Dating Romance Scam
Online dating romance scam, otherwise known as sweetheart swindles, has been likened to have the spirit
of the advance fee fraud (Huang et al. 2015). According to Whitty (2015) however, the portrayed end goal
for the victim is typically that they will be in a committed relationship rather than merely in receipt of large
sums of money. In this type of scam, criminals create fake social network site profiles to attract the trust of
people into relationships to financially defraud them (Budd and Anderson 2011; Whitty 2019; Whitty and
Buchanan 2016). They then upload photographs ranging from low-quality to heavily pixilated photographs
of the same crafty socially engineered person in order to strengthen their credibility. The second stage is to
maintain consistent contact with the would-be victim. This requires the establishment of a strong bond with
the target through constant contact to engender trust, confidence and romantic connections (Rege 2009).
Cross, Dragiewicz and Richards (2018) for instance, contend that once trust is proven, offenders resort to a
variety of modes of communication, including email, telephone and text messaging to maintain the ruse.
Stage three according to Whitty (2015) is the sting stage where scammers attempt to con the victim out of
money. If they failed in the first instance, they go back to the grooming stage (stage two). In some instances
in stage three, criminals craft tragic stories, theft of personal documents during travel, unexpected hospital
expenses resulting from sudden accidents or illnesses (Rege 2009) to solidify their legitimacy.
Further, victims are sometimes unable to identify such scams considering the length of the period it takes
to create a relationship and build trust in these scams. Rege (2009) posits that such relationships take as
long as six to eight months until trust is built. The final stage is the revelation stage, where victims identify
that they have been scammed. Whitty (2015) opines that some financial victims realize the scams
themselves and seek out evidence to support their premonitions whiles victims who fairly quickly identify
the scam exit at stage 3.
Theoretical Foundation
Online romance fraud is an ever-growing phenomenon and for that matter has been studied from diverse
disciplines. Again, as indicated in the upper sections of this paper, Wada, Longe and Danquah (2012)
contend that empirical evidence to the application and validation of theories in the context of cybercriminal
activities is sparse. Though several online romance scam studies have been conducted, a few of them have
employed theories to back their studies. With this, Table 1 summarises some online romance fraud studies
that have been conducted in the past few years.

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
3
Study
Theory
Methodology
Perspective
Buchanan and Whitty
(2014)
N/A
Quantitative
Victim
Kopp et al., (2015)
N/A
Qualitative
Victim
Sorell and Whitty
(2019)
N/A
Qualitative
Victim
Luu et al., (2017)
Protection Motivation
Theory
Quantitative
Victim
Jong (2019)
N/A
Quantitative
Dating platform
Table 1. Previous Online Romance Scam Studies
While these studies are valuable in studying cybercrime in the context of online dating romance fraud, most
studies seem to be silent on the perpetrators’ perspective of issues. Again, studies that have attempted to
fill this gap (not necessarily from online romance fraud) have done that only focusing on one or a
combination of two of motivation, opportunity, ability and rationalization dimensions. This therefore
warrants the need to attempt a study from the viewpoint of the offender, which will put all these dimensions
into perspective. To this end, we adopt the Motivation, Opportunity, Ability Framework postulated by
MacInnis and Jaworski (1989) and the rationalization dimension of the fraud triangle theory proposed by
(Cressey 1950).
The Motivation, Opportunity and Ability Framework
The motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) framework was established to explain how consumers process
information in advertisements (Clark et al. 2005). The MOA framework, which was postulated by MacInnis
and Jaworski (1989) suggests that individuals process information based on their underlying motives,
opportunities and abilities (Parra-López et al. 2012). It has successfully been used in various disciplines to
explain a wide array of behaviors. This includes but not limited to knowledge sharing (Siemsen et al. 2008),
social media (Parra-López et al. 2012), consumer choices and firm-level decision making (Maclnnis et al.
1991; Wu et al. 2004). Nonetheless, the framework has been used more recently as studies in knowledge-
management practice and research (Argote et al. 2003; Siemsen et al. 2008) and also used in management
disciplines when discussing an individuals’ work performance (Siemsen et al. 2008).
The first component of the MOA framework is the motivation dimension, which has been identified as the
driving force that pushes an individual to make a decision. In conceptualizing the motivation dimension of
the framework, Murphy and Dacin (2011) referred to motivation as the pressures to commit fraud which
includes social pressures such as how individuals wish to be seen by others. It is however worth noting that
motivation is a unitary phenomenon as the level of motivation varies from one person to the other (Ryan
and Deci 2000).
Relative to fraud perpetration, a number of existing studies have delineated some motivations toward the
commission of online crimes. For instance, a study by Ngafeeson (2010) that developed a motivational
model of cybercrime conceptualized motivation as the various factors that push people to carry out
cybercrime. This push may be as a result of the determinants of crime; unemployment, low median income,
poverty, wage inequality, social status, et cetera. According to Ngafeeson (2010) cybercriminals indulge in
cybercrimes driven by their desire to satisfy personal needs. Such needs can be psychological, safety needs,
belonging needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs (Maslow 1981).
Opportunity is the second dimension of the MOA framework which is the circumstances that allow or
facilitate people to perform a behavior (Hung and Petrick 2012). Opportunity reflects the presence of
enabling environmental mechanisms that facilitate task performance and are the external contextual
factors that enable performance. According to Gruen, Osmonbekov and Czaplewski (2005) this dimension
of the framework reflects the extent to which a situation is conducive to achieving a desired outcome.

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
4
Situational factors such as the time available, attention paid, number of distractions, or number of
repetitions that something is available were projected by MacInnis and Jaworski (1989) to be factors that
can either impede or enhance the desired outcome. Based on extant research, opportunity in relation to the
commission of fraud has been identified as one that arises when a fraudster sees a way to use his or her
position of trust to solve a financial problem, knowing he or she is unlikely to be caught (Kassem and Higson
2012).
Ability concerns the person’s internal skills or proficiencies that are required to complete a task (Fadel and
Durcikova 2014). Ability is synonymous with skills and competences and reflects individuals' beliefs about
their capacity during their performance and in the obtaining of results (Bigné et al. 2010). In brand
information ads processing for instance, Maclnnis et al. (1991) conceptualized ability as the consumers'
skills or proficiencies in interpreting brand information in an ad. Relative to cybercrimes and for that matter
romance fraud, there seems to be a lack of studies that emphasize the abilities of the criminal, particularly
with the MOA framework in perspective. Among the few studies reviewed include Hunton (2012) which
aimed at extending his earlier research that first introduced the concept of the Cybercrime Execution Stack
by examining in detail the underlying data objectives of the cybercriminal. In establishing why
cybercriminals initiate data attacks, the author pointed out that the cybercriminal’s ability to use technology
and exploit the internet to access, manipulate and communicate electronic data directly is a fundamental
feature in the commission of cybercrime and other illicit or criminal behaviors. This assertion by Hunton
(2012) was found to be an essential aid to support the ability dimension of this study.
Rationalization
Rationalization is the mechanism by which an individual determines that his or her fraudulent behavior is
okay in his or her mind (Coenen 2008) to reduce or avoid the negative effect that would normally
accompany it (Murphy and Dacin 2011). It is a feeling of indifference assumed by an offender to justify the
guilt resulting from his or misconduct. Rationalization as a justification for one’s fraudulent behavior may
be as a result of lack of personal integrity or other moral reasoning (Kassem and Higson 2012). During
fraudulent activities, individuals must reconcile contradictions between their intended actions and general
attitudes, which existing studies (Dellaportas 2013; Harrison 2018; Ramamoorti 2008) have referred to as
cognitive dissonance.
The rationalization dimension of the theory has been studied in previous researeches (Albrecht et al. 1995;
Anand et al. 2004; Peterson and Gibson 2003; Said et al. 2017) mostly in relation to fraudulent
organizational activities. Studies that have studied why criminals rationalize offenses in cybercrime
arguably remain very few. Again, one study that explicitly stated why cybercriminals rationalize their
offenses was that of Whitty (2018). However, there are few studies even though silent on rationalization
pointed out some traits of how and why cybercriminals justify their activities (Longe et al. 2009; Tade 2013).
In studying the pathways to cyberfraud criminality emanating from West Africa, specifically Nigeria, Whitty
(2018) identified some reasons that cyber fraudsters attribute to the reasons why they commit internet
crime as well as the justifications for the commission of those crimes. First among these justifications is the
fact that West African cybercriminals target Westerners that they perceive to be greedy and stupid,
popularly known in their vernacular as Maga or Muga. Cybercriminals rationalize the legitimacy of their
crimes against such people as revenge for the perceived injustice they believe were meted out by their
forefathers during the era of the Transatlantic slave trade. Secondly, cybercriminals (not only West African
cybercriminals) tend to ride on the gullibility of their victims by claiming that the onus lies on the victims
to recognize when they are being scammed. Finally, cybercriminals from the region rationalize other crimes
to be worse than cyber offenses.
Methodology
This study employed a qualitative research approach in understanding cybercrime by investigating the
perspectives and behaviors of romance fraud perpetrators in situations and the context within which they
act. In that regard, we used semi-structured interviews as the primary means of data collection in which we
asked case subjects questions related to cybercrimes. The snowballing technique was adopted for the
recruitment of respondents for this study. First, internet café operators were interviewed, who then led us
to potential perpetrators. A total of 10 perpetrators were interviewed from Accra in Ghana whom we

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
5
interviewed face-to-face for 45 minutes to an hour, followed by phone conversations for clarification on
unclear issues. All 10 respondents for the study were males with female accomplices who declined to take
part in the study. Out of the 10 perpetrators, 4 operated as a group with shared facilities. The remaining 6
were interviewed randomly from 4 different internet cafés.
The validity of the data was further tested through the convergence of information from multiple sources.
For instance, 8 bankers from two banks in Ghana (1 foreign and 1 indigenous) were interviewed to ascertain
how they detect which withdrawals are legitimate and which ones are cybercrime-related. Again, lawyers
and other law enforcement units were also interviewed to understand laws and policies that are in place to
combat cybercrimes in the country. But for the purpose of this study, only the data collected from the
perpetrators will be presented and analyzed.
Analytical techniques were drawn from Miles and Huberman (1994) qualitative data analysis approach,
which identifies three other stages after data collection; data reduction, data display and drawing
conclusion and verification. At the data reduction stage of the analysis, raw data collected from the field
were organized by means of coding, where the data was reduced into meaningful segments and assigned
labels for onward analysis. The next step was to write summaries of the coded data, which was further to
reduce the weighty statements expressed by the data subjects into fewer words in efforts to move closer to
the essence of the purpose of the research. While at this, the researchers kept focus on not losing the
substance of the data as a result of data reduction. Secondly, in efforts to simplifying the complex nature of
the phenomenon under study, we made use of tables (e.g. tables 3). This was done in consonance to
Verdinelli and Scagnoli's (2013) claim that a visual display should be as uncomplicated as possible, and it
should possess the right balance of valuable information and minimum detail, avoiding irrelevant off-topic
content or information to achieve efficiency in helping the reader gain the intended message. At the early
stages of the data collection and analysis, we identified and noted possible conclusions. However, those
conclusions were ambiguous and revealed inadequate awareness of the facts. These conclusions in that
regard were held tentative pending further review and were organized for presentation during analysis
when all data were collected and reduced.
Summary of Findings
The main source of data for this study was collected among a cybercrime syndicate, which started in 2015.
The group operates with four male members and female affiliates. The coming together of the group was as
a result of specialization. The chief informant avers that “people in this business have their strengths and
weaknesses… I am very good at shopping. One of the guys is also good at chatting clients”.
Table 2. Profile of gang members
As evidenced in Table 2, the group is primarily made up of a young male cohort between the ages of 25 and
27 (at the time of data collection; 2017/18), with senior high school as the highest educational level. At the
time of data collection, the Chief Informant (CI) had completed senior high school and had dropped out of
IT training because his focus for enrolling in the IT training school was not met. Being the first of six, the
CI claims that “my family is not a rich family. My mother is a trader and my father is also a watchman. I
am the firstborn and I have three brothers and two sisters” and believes that the financial strength of the
parents was inadequate to sustain a large family size as his. He avers that “being the firstborn I need to
sacrifice and help my parents to take care of the rest." His position on cybercrime is that cybercrime is less
a crime than traditional crimes (robbery). In his words, “It is better to do something than do nothing… I
can’t go and steal from people…No it is bad to do that”. At the time of data collection, the CI owned a car,
a MacBook Pro and uses an iPhone 6.
Pseudo-names
Age*
Educational Qualification
Years of Experience
Chief Informant
27
Senior High School Leaver with partial
IT training
Since 2008
GM2
25
Senior High School Leaver
Since 2011
GM3
25
Senior High School Leaver
Since 2011
GM3
26
Dropped out of senior high
Since 2013

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
6
Discussion of Findings
Motivated Scammer
Evidence from the data collected for this study suggested that peer recruitment and training, poverty,
unemployment, low level of education and low-income influence individuals’ decisions to commit romance
scams. For instance, the romance scam syndicates interviewed for this study were young unemployed
persons aiming to live meaningful lives from cybercriminal activities. Even though they give non-
confirmatory responses to questions of traditional crimes, they believed cybercrime is less a crime than
traditional crimes. Further, one of the respondents posits that “I have five siblings. My father is a
watchman (security man) and my mother is a trader. They can’t take care of all of us, … so I have to do
something to survive." Another member of the group also opines that “I didn’t continue because of school
fees; my senior sister too didn’t finish because of school fees. My junior brother is also going to school but
I don’t know what will happen”. On why he engages in internet scams, he simply explains that “there are
no jobs and man must eat” however he joined the group as a result of association. The dynamics of this
acknowledgment are not too different from that of the other members in the case group. This finding lends
credence to Olayemi’s (2014) finding that criminals engage in cybercrime principally as a result of
unemployment, deprivation and a need to aspire to the higher socio-economic statuses of some others they
see with no readily visible income-generating activities to justify such affluence.
Online romance scams take a lot of time and effort in getting accomplished. However, scammers take their
time to walk victims through the romance scam trajectory. According to scammers, one's awareness of his
or her situation (poverty, unemployment, among others) is enough motivation to be patient. For example,
an independent scammer interviewed opined that “the thing is about patience but it also depends on your
level of intelligence. You can chat a client for 2 hours and everything falls into place. Sometimes too some
of them are stubborn, so it takes a while to break them.”
Opportunities
In considering the motivations for the commission of internet crimes, a complete explanation must
ultimately consider the sociocultural environments in which people conduct their daily lives (Choo and Tan
2007). This then leads the discussion to the configurations of the forces in the environment of a person that
enables the person’s work performance; opportunity (Blumberg and Pringle 1982)
Findings from the current study suggest that cybercriminals take advantage of weaknesses in existing laws
to commit internet crimes. For example, our lead informer has been perpetuating cybercrime since 2008
and he enquires, “how will the police know where I stay ... They don't have the technology?" This
underlines their confidence that the police and agencies responsible for clamping down on cybercriminal
activities lack the capabilities to do so. That is, they believe the authorities live in a different world with no
technical knowledge of tackling the phenomenon head-on. For instance, one of the perpetrators claimed
that “We have a WhatsApp group where anytime there are new moves to beat the systems, someone will
come and teach. So, they (the police) are always playing catchup.” A finding which corroborates with
Olayemi's (2014) assertion that laws to combat cybercrimes are useless if law enforcement agencies do not
have the education and training necessary even to operate a computer. Again, this finding supports claims
by Mui and Mailley (2015) that opportunity becomes more attractive to perpetrators when the probability
of being caught is low.
Ability
Ability has been identified as a person’s internal skills or proficiencies that are required to complete the
task. Lickiewicz (2011) pointed out some traits perceived to be abilities of cybercriminals in that regard;
social and technical abilities. Social skills constitute the ability of an individual to function in a group as
well as internalize social norms. Technical skills on the other hand are the general knowledge concerning
programming languages, computer systems, network functioning.
Evidence from the data collected for this study points to the fact that online romance scammers possess
both social and technical abilities. Social in the sense that the perpetrators are able to function as a group
and also understand the functional duties of all members in the group. For instance, in their decision to
come together as a group, the leader of narrates that “everybody has his strength and weakness. I am good

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
7
at shopping. Another person is good at chatting with clients. So, we decided to come together since we are
all doing the same thing. At one point, my light will shine. At another point, another person's light will
shine so we will all not go dry at the same time". Again, their social relationships and ability to maintain
constant storylines with victims cannot be overlooked. Scammers hold a high level of interactional social
ability that helps them keep their victims to believe seemingly legitimate truth which turns out to be lies.
Further, confidence romance scammers possess technology-related abilities that cannot be
overemphasized. While most of the people interviewed for the study had no formal computer training, they
use basic functions of computers and related technologies in their daily operations. Except for the leader of
the group who had some level of computer training, the rest learned the act on the job. Also, the
perpetrators' awareness of the needed technology and applications to use at particular points in time affords
them the leverage of outpacing their victims. For example, when asked how they deal with anonymity, one
of our respondents narrated, “There a number of them like the Dollar VPN, SOCKS, RDP. With the RDP, it
is like having access to someone’s computer in the US and using it. So, you will get access to the person’s
user ID and password and browse on the person’s laptop without his knowledge.
This outcome of the study is in line with Clough's (2010) assertion that the ability to commit computer
crimes was largely limited to those with access and expertise. Today, the technology is ubiquitous and
increasingly easy to use, ensuring its availability to both offenders and victims.
Rationalizing Online Romance Scam
This study has given a background of why individuals engage in cybercrime as well as their abilities and the
environmental opportunities. This section of the study therefore presents the justification that romance
fraud criminals impute to their involvement in the crime. It is important to note that the justification given
by perpetrators of online romance scams may differ from person to person. Rationalization may be
understood in this sense as the justification for one's unlawful behavior. In studying cybercriminal
rationalization strategies, it is easy for one to misjudge offender motivation to the offender's crime
rationalization. For example, while poverty may be the driving force for one's financial needs (motivation),
the justification for whom he/she steals the money from is his/her rationalization for the commission of
the crime.
Evidence from the data points to the fact that cybercriminals' targets are mostly the wealthy and financially
sound westerners desperately seeking romantic relationships. While one of the respondents believe, the
victims are wealthy and for that matter do not lose anything when they are scammed, an astonishing
revelation was when one of the group members said “They are credit cards from the Osama Bin Laden
Bombing… those who died didn’t die with their cards.” Even though this assertion may not be directly
related to online romance fraud, the respondent believed the victims of the September 11 World Trade
Center attack still have their monies on their cards and for that matter they are robbing from no one.
Again, online romance scam fraudsters interviewed for this study rationalize their activities as not being as
dangerous as traditional crimes like robbery and murder. For example, a respondent claimed that “No one
can judge me with what I am doing unless a judge tells me that I am a criminal; nobody can call me a
criminal." He is of the view that cybercriminal activities are standard practices that people commit even
without knowing. He again questions that "those who have been downloading movies from pirate sites, do
they pay? Do you call them cyber criminals?". The respondent further maintains that cybercrime is less a
crime than traditional crimes "it is better to do something than do nothing… I can't go and rob people …
No, it is bad to do that". Romance scammers also claim that they take advantage of greedy, gullible and
unintelligent westerners who are slow at identifying scam relationships. This, they believe, is a payback for
the pain inflicted on their ancestors by the westerners during the era of the slave trade. This finding even
though is in line with that of Whitty (2018) the claim of 9/11 victims being the target seems to be an eye-
opener.

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
8
Conclusion and Implications
This study sought to consolidate how online romance fraudsters rationalize their motivations, opportunities
available in the environment and their ability to commit online romance scams. Using a qualitative
approach, four romance fraud perpetrators who operated as a group and six independent cybercrime
perpetrators were interviewed and observed. The findings of this study brought to bear some findings with
respect to the drivers, opportunity and ability of cybercriminal activities. First, an interplay of various socio-
economic factors is a major driving force behind the commission of cybercrime. These include peer
recruitment and training, poverty, unemployment, low level of education and low income. Second,
cybercrime perpetrators ride on the availability of affordable technologies and network services. Third, the
lack of confidence in law enforcement grants cybercriminals the opportunity to commit crimes. Again,
online romance scammers possess basic computer and social skills which helps them in the commission of
online scams. Finally, they find justifications to make sense of their unlawful behaviors.
The uniqueness of this study stems from the fact that it is arguably one of the first studies in information
systems research to apply the MOA framework in the study of cybercriminal behaviors. This study again is
arguably the first study to combine all four dimensions. Thus, motivation, opportunity, ability and
rationalization. Previous studies that have attempted to understand the triggers of cybercrime have done
so from either motivation, or motivation and rationalization. This implication cannot be overlooked as the
study aims to add to the existing body of knowledge regarding cybercrime studies as well as respond to
research gaps considering the sparsity of studies that employed the use of social or criminology theories.
Concerning policy and practice, this study will form a strong basis for banks, internet service providers as
well as shipping and clearing agencies to collaborate with the police in the crack-down of cybercriminals.
This research will also provide adequate findings for the Government of Ghana as well as law enforcement
agencies responsible for enacting laws to expedite ongoing processes in formulating policies and regulations
to govern irresponsible use of the internet among the citizenry.
While this study is unique in bringing the four dimensions together in a single study, there are few
limitations that can guide future studies. First, we sought out to explore the motivation, ability and
opportunity rationalization among romance fraud perpetrators. It is essential to note that the spectrum of
cybercrime cuts across a wide range of internet offences. Future studies can therefore triangulate our
findings with other forms of crimes (e.g. hacking, cyberbullying, child pornography) using the dimensions
established in this study. Secondly, while some of our respondents include law enforcement agencies, our
study did not entirely focus on combative measures in combatting cybercrime in Ghana. Future studies
should consider venturing into countries' readiness in efforts to combat crimes.
REFERENCES
Albrecht, W. S., Wernz, G. W., and Williams, T. L. 1995. Fraud: Bringing Light to the Dark Side of Business,
Irwin Professional Pub.
Anand, V., Ashforth, B. E., and Joshi, M. 2004. “Business as Usual: The Acceptance and Perpetuation of
Corruption in Organizations,” Academy of Management Perspectives (18:2), Academy of
Management Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510, pp. 39–53.
Argote, L., McEvily, B., and Reagans, R. 2003. “Managing Knowledge in Organizations: An Integrative
Framework and Review of Emerging Themes,” Management Science (49:4), Informs, pp. 571–582.
Barn, R., and Barn, B. 2016. An Ontological Representation of a Taxonomy for Cybercrime.
Bigné, E., Hernández, B., Ruiz, C., and Andreu, L. 2010. “How Motivation, Opportunity and Ability Can
Drive Online Airline Ticket Purchases,” Journal of Air Transport Management (16:6), Elsevier, pp.
346–349.
Blumberg, M., and Pringle, C. D. 1982. “The Missing Opportunity in Organizational Research: Some
Implications for a Theory of Work Performance,” Academy of Management Review (7:4), Academy
of Management Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510, pp. 560–569.
Buchanan, T., and Whitty, M. T. 2014. “The Online Dating Romance Scam: Causes and Consequences of
Victimhood,” Psychology, Crime & Law (20:3), Taylor & Francis, pp. 261–283.
Budd, C., and Anderson, J. 2011. Consumer Fraud in Australasia: Results of the Australasian Consumer

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
9
Fraud Taskforce Online Australia Surveys 2008 and 2009, Australian Institute of Criminology.
Choo, F., and Tan, K. 2007. “An ‘American Dream’ Theory of Corporate Executive Fraud,” Accounting
Forum (31:2), pp. 203–215. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2006.12.004).
Clark, B. H., Abela, A. V, and Ambler, T. 2005. “Organizational Motivation, Opportunity and Ability to
Measure Marketing Performance,” Journal of Strategic Marketing (13:4), Taylor & Francis, pp. 241–
259.
Clough, J. 2010. Principles of Cybercrime, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
CNN. 2019. “Americans Lost $143 Million in Online Romance Scams Last Year. That’s Way More than Any
Other Reported Fraud.” (https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/23/us/online-romance-scams-losses-
trnd/index.html, accessed January 12, 2020).
Coenen, T. L. 2008. Essentials of Corporate Fraud, (Vol. 37), John Wiley & Sons.
Cressey, D. R. 1950. “The Criminal Violation of Financial Trust,” American Sociological Review (15:6),
JSTOR, pp. 738–743.
Cross, C., Dragiewicz, M., and Richards, K. 2018. “Understanding Romance Fraud: Insights from Domestic
Violence Research,” The British Journal of Criminology (58:6), Oxford University Press UK, pp.
1303–1322.
Dellaportas, S. 2013. “Conversations with Inmate Accountants: Motivation, Opportunity and the Fraud
Triangle,” Accounting Fórum (37:1), Taylor & Francis, pp. 29–39.
Donalds, C., and Osei-Bryson, K.-M. 2019. “Toward a Cybercrime Classification Ontology: A Knowledge-
Based Approach,” Computers in Human Behavior (92), Elsevier, pp. 403–418.
Fadel, K. J., and Durcikova, A. 2014. “Enhancing the Motivation, Opportunity, and Ability of Knowledge
Workers to Participate in Knowledge Exchange,” in 2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on
System Sciences, IEEE, pp. 3605–3614.
Gruen, T. W., Osmonbekov, T., and Czaplewski, A. J. 2005. “How E-Communities Extend the Concept of
Exchange in Marketing: An Application of the Motivation, Opportunity, Ability (MOA) Theory,”
Marketing Theory (5:1), Sage Publications Sage CA: Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 33–49.
Harrison, A. 2018. “The Effects of Media Capabilities on the Rationalization of Online Consumer Fraud,”
Journal of the Association for Information Systems (19:5), p. 1.
Huang, J., Stringhini, G., and Yong, P. 2015. “Quit Playing Games with My Heart: Understanding Online
Dating Scams,” in International Conference on Detection of Intrusions and Malware, and
Vulnerability Assessment, Springer, pp. 216–236.
Hung, K., and Petrick, J. F. 2012. “Testing the Effects of Congruity, Travel Constraints, and Self-Efficacy on
Travel Intentions: An Alternative Decision-Making Model,” Tourism Management (33:4), Elsevier,
pp. 855–867. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.09.007).
Hunton, P. 2012. “Data Attack of the Cybercriminal: Investigating the Digital Currency of Cybercrime,”
Computer Law & Security Review (28:2), Elsevier, pp. 201–207.
Jong, K. 2019. Detecting the Online Romance Scam: Recognising Images Used in Fraudulent Dating
Profiles, University of Twente.
Kassem, R., and Higson, A. 2012. “The New Fraud Triangle Model,” Journal of Emerging Trends in
Economics and Management Sciences (3:3), Scholarlink Research Institute, pp. 191–195.
Kopp, C., Layton, R., Sillitoe, J., and Gondal, I. 2015. “The Role of Love Stories in Romance Scams: A
Qualitative Analysis of Fraudulent Profiles.,” International Journal of Cyber Criminology (9:2).
Lickiewicz, J. 2011. “Cyber Crime Psychology-Proposal of an Offender Psychological Profile,” Problems of
Forensic Sciences (2:3), pp. 239–252.
Longe, O., Ngwa, O., Wada, F., Mbarika, V., and Kvasny, L. 2009. “Criminal Uses of Information &
Communication Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Trends, Concerns and Perspectives,” Journal of
Information Technology Impact (9:3), pp. 155–172.
Luu, V., Land, L., and Chin, W. 2017. Safeguarding Against Romance Scams–Using Protection Motivation
Theory.
MacInnis, D. J., and Jaworski, B. J. 1989. “Information Processing from Advertisements: Toward an
Integrative Framework,” Journal of Marketing (53:4), SAGE Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA,
pp. 1–23.
Maclnnis, D. J., Moorman, C., and Jaworski, B. J. 1991. “Enhancing and Measuring Consumers’ Motivation,
Opportunity, and Ability to Process Brand Information from Ads,” Journal of Marketing (55:4), SAGE
Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA, pp. 32–53.
Maslow, A. H. 1981. Motivation and Personality, Prabhat Prakashan.
Miles, M. B., and Huberman, A. M. 1994. Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, sage.

Romance Fraud: In the Eyes of the Offender
Americas Conference on Information Systems
10
Mui, G., and Mailley, J. 2015. “A Tale of Two Triangles: Comparing the Fraud Triangle with Criminology’s
Crime Triangle,” Accounting Research Journal (28:1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 45–
58.
Murphy, P. R., and Dacin, M. T. 2011. “Psychological Pathways to Fraud: Understanding and Preventing
Fraud in Organizations,” Journal of Business Ethics (101:4), Springer, pp. 601–618.
Ngafeeson, M. 2010. “Cybercrime Classification: A Motivational Model,” College of Business
Administration, The University of Texas-Pan American (1201).
Olayemi, O. J. 2014. “A Socio-Technological Analysis of Cybercrime and Cyber Security in Nigeria,”
International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology (6:3), Academic Journals, p. 116.
Parra-López, E., Gutiérrez-Taño, D., Diaz-Armas, R. J., and Bulchand-Gidumal, J. 2012. “Travellers 2.0:
Motivation, Opportunity and Ability to Use Social Media,” Social Media in Travel, Tourism and
Hospitality: Theory, Practice and Cases, Ashgate Publication.
Peterson, B. K., and Gibson, T. H. 2003. “Student Health Services: A Case of Employee Fraud,” Journal of
Accounting Education (21:1), Elsevier, pp. 61–73.
Ramamoorti, S. 2008. “The Psychology and Sociology of Fraud: Integrating the Behavioral Sciences
Component into Fraud and Forensic Accounting Curricula,” Issues in Accounting Education (23:4),
pp. 521–533.
Rege, A. 2009. “What’s Love Got to Do with It? Exploring Online Dating Scams and Identity Fraud.,”
International Journal of Cyber Criminology (3:2).
Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. 2000. “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New
Directions,” Contemporary Educational Psychology (25:1), Elsevier, pp. 54–67.
Said, J., Alam, M. M., Ramli, M., and Rafidi, M. 2017. “Integrating Ethical Values into Fraud Triangle
Theory in Assessing Employee Fraud: Evidence from the Malaysian Banking Industry,” Journal of
International Studies (10:2), pp. 170–184.
Siemsen, E., Roth, A. V, and Balasubramanian, S. 2008. “How Motivation, Opportunity, and Ability Drive
Knowledge Sharing: The Constraining-Factor Model,” Journal of Operations Management (26:3),
Elsevier, pp. 426–445.
Sorell, T., and Whitty, M. 2019. “Online Romance Scams and Victimhood,” Security Journal (32:3),
Springer, pp. 342–361.
Suarez-Tangil, G., Edwards, M., Peersman, C., Stringhini, G., Rashid, A., and Whitty, M. 2019.
“Automatically Dismantling Online Dating Fraud,” IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and
Security (15), IEEE, pp. 1128–1137.
Tade, O. 2013. “A Spiritual Dimension to Cybercrime in Nigeria: The ‘Yahoo plus’ Phenomenon,” Human
Affairs (23:4), Versita, pp. 689–705.
Wada, F., Longe, O., and Danquah, P. 2012. “Action Speaks Louder than Words-Understanding Cyber
Criminal Behavior Using Criminological Theories,” The Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce
(17:1), Research and Reviews, pp. 1–12.
Whitty, M. T. 2013. “Anatomy of the Online Dating Romance Scam,” Security Journal (28:4), Springer, pp.
443–455.
Whitty, M. T. 2018. “419-It’s Just a Game: Pathways to Cyber-Fraud Criminality Emanating from West
Africa.,” International Journal of Cyber Criminology.
Whitty, M. T. 2019. “Who Can Spot an Online Romance Scam?,” Journal of Financial Crime (just-
accepted), Emerald Publishing Limited, p. 0.
Whitty, M. T., and Buchanan, T. 2012. “The Online Romance Scam: A Serious Cybercrime,”
CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (15:3), Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot
Street, 3rd Floor New Rochelle, NY 10801 USA, pp. 181–183.
Whitty, M. T., and Buchanan, T. 2016. “The Online Dating Romance Scam: The Psychological Impact on
Victims–Both Financial and Non-Financial,” Criminology & Criminal Justice (16:2), Sage
Publications Sage UK: London, England, pp. 176–194.
Wu, Y., Balasubramanian, S., and Mahajan, V. 2004. “When Is a Preannounced New Product Likely to Be
Delayed?,” Journal of Marketing (68:2), SAGE Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA, pp. 101–113.