Advance fee fraud scammers’ criminal expertise and deceptive strategies: a qualitative case study
Information and Computer Security
ISSN: 2056-4961
Article publication date: 5 May 2023
Issue publication date: 30 October 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how advance fee fraud (AFF) scammers build their criminal expertise over time and why the AFF scamming deception process succeeds.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is interpretive, based on case study interview data with two scammers operating in Africa. The interviews were done over a period of time, and the data collection and analysis processes were iterative, primarily driven by the interview data.
Findings
The authors identify four processes that explain how scammers build criminal expertise, namely, socializing with scammers, accepting scamming definitions, practicing scamming techniques and manipulating digital technologies. The fourth process (manipulating digital technologies) also explains why scammer’s tactics are successful.
Originality/value
AFF scamming is a major crime affecting individuals and organizations worldwide, yet it remains under researched as little is known about scammers, their expertise and why their deceptive techniques are successful. The first contribution identifies four processes by which individuals build scamming criminal expertise as they transition from scammers-in-the-making to full-blown active scammers. The second contribution identifies the rationalizations used by scammers-in-the-making and scammers to justify transitioning into scamming and engaging in scamming criminality. The third contribution explains how the digital environment contributes to the processes of building scamming criminal expertise and why scammer’s deceptive tactics are sometimes successful.
Keywords
Citation
Tambe Ebot, A. (2023), "Advance fee fraud scammers’ criminal expertise and deceptive strategies: a qualitative case study", Information and Computer Security, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 478-503. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICS-01-2022-0007
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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