Anatomy of the online dating romance scam

Security Journal had re-printed the paper "Anatomy of the online dating romance scam" (2012)  written by Dr. Monica Whitty (one of the masterminds of MyType - some sort of eHarmony clon in Australia)

The Online Dating Romance Scam is a relatively new form of online fraud. This article draws from three qualitative studies: an analysis of posts from a public online support group, in-depth interviews with victims of this crime and an interview with a Serious Organised Crime Agency officer to outline the anatomy of this scam. It is argued here that there are five distinct stages of this crime. In Stage 1, the criminal creates an attractive profile to draw in the victim; in Stage 2, the criminal grooms the victim, priming them to send money; in Stage 3, the criminal begins to request funds from the victim (there a four potential trajectories at this stage); in Stage 4, which only a few went through, the victim is sexually abused via cybersex; and finally Stage 5 is the revelation. Understanding the anatomy of this scam is important for prevention as well as psychological treatment.


The Online Dating Industry has no/weak Legislation, no ID verification, low reliable background checks, no Quality Norms.
No one compatibility matching method is Scientifically Proven.
BUT
A variety of new laws, or new interpretations of existing laws, could subject dating sites to claims or otherwise harm their business.