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<p>With the proliferation of online social networks, romance scams have become increasingly diverse and complex. While traditional perspectives suggest fraudsters construct “perfect” identities, real-world cases reveal that “imperfect” identities (such as widowed or ordinary occupations) are equally effective. This study systematically examines how fraudster identity construction, framing vulnerability, and victim attachment avoidance influence perceived financial risk. Adopting a mixed-methods design combining quantitative analysis of qualitative data (15,363 victim reports) and experimental validation (325 participants), we demonstrate that fraudsters systematically deploy moderately imperfect identities to enhance perceived credibility. Health crisis narratives are most effective in reducing risk perception, followed by occupational crises, while meeting expense narratives evoke the highest suspicion. Fraudster authenticity mediates the relationship between vulnerability framing and risk perception, and fraudsters’ occupational gender segregation interacts with narratives: male-dominated professions are more deceptive in occupational crises, while female-dominated roles excel in health crises. Victims’ attachment avoidance also moderates responses; high-avoidance individuals resist emotional manipulation, whereas low-avoidance individuals are more susceptible. Our findings provide insights for law enforcement, AI-driven fraud detection systems, and targeted psychological interventions, offering new strategies to mitigate financial victimization.</p>

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The Imperfect ‘Perfect’ Fraudster: Exploring How Vulnerability Framing, Fraudster Identity, and Victim Attachment Shape Financial Risk Perception

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月12日

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  • Yidan Huang,
  • Rui Yao

摘要

With the proliferation of online social networks, romance scams have become increasingly diverse and complex. While traditional perspectives suggest fraudsters construct “perfect” identities, real-world cases reveal that “imperfect” identities (such as widowed or ordinary occupations) are equally effective. This study systematically examines how fraudster identity construction, framing vulnerability, and victim attachment avoidance influence perceived financial risk. Adopting a mixed-methods design combining quantitative analysis of qualitative data (15,363 victim reports) and experimental validation (325 participants), we demonstrate that fraudsters systematically deploy moderately imperfect identities to enhance perceived credibility. Health crisis narratives are most effective in reducing risk perception, followed by occupational crises, while meeting expense narratives evoke the highest suspicion. Fraudster authenticity mediates the relationship between vulnerability framing and risk perception, and fraudsters’ occupational gender segregation interacts with narratives: male-dominated professions are more deceptive in occupational crises, while female-dominated roles excel in health crises. Victims’ attachment avoidance also moderates responses; high-avoidance individuals resist emotional manipulation, whereas low-avoidance individuals are more susceptible. Our findings provide insights for law enforcement, AI-driven fraud detection systems, and targeted psychological interventions, offering new strategies to mitigate financial victimization.