The Gamification of Online Romance Fraud through Offenders’ Cards

Abstract

Despite the legal, economic, socio-psychological, and moral implications of online romance fraud, offenders in Ghana perceive online romance fraud as a form of a game. This study employs a game-theoretic approach to examine the strategic decision that fraudsters in Ghana adopt to exploit victims. The study collects data through semi-structured interviews, informal conversation, telephone calls, and WhatsApp calls. The analysis leveraged insights from Nash equilibrium and asymmetric information to explore both the rational choices that offenders make and the dynamics of information disclosure and acquisition throughout the online fraud process. The findings suggest that a high-investment offender paired with a trusting victim creates an equilibrium that favors the offender, enabling continuous fraud and maximizing victims’ financial or emotional exploitation. The results suggest that mitigating the proliferation of online romance scams can be achieved through a combination of strategies, including automating fake social media and dating profile detection (e.g., identical image flagging), increasing public awareness, and implementing symmetric information practices.