Sept. 30, 2025
Contact: Cary Littlejohn, carylittlejohn@missouri.edu
It’s no secret that people are increasingly turning to online sources for friendship and romantic connections through apps and websites, and with this rising trend comes a corresponding rise in the risk of being scammed.
Cybercrime is surging — a 2024 study found more than 228 million people across 15 countries fell victim to scams between 2021 and 2023, and the United States saw the highest prevalence of susceptibility.
Researchers at the University of Missouri are doing their part to minimize that risk by exploring the tactics online scammers use in hopes of making online dating apps and social media sites safer.
Rui Yao, a professor of applied social sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, has found that scammers have moved away from stereotypical too-good-to-be-true online personas and now favor “strategic imperfection” to enhance credibility in the eyes of would-be victims.
“Scammers traditionally would create these glossy profiles to trick you,” Yao said. “Now they have evolved to include minor ‘flaws,’ such as being divorced or widowed or working ordinary jobs. They don’t have to appear perfect to be relatable.”
Having a better understanding of how scams are being conducted provides valuable insight into the evolution of tactics and may provide the basis for future safeguards.
Perfectly imperfect
Yao’s insights on how online scams are evolving came from a thorough review of thousands of user-submitted reports detailing real experiences of being conned. The researchers focused on the personas created by the scammers and descriptions of the fraudulent activities.
Most profiles were concentrated around 50 years old and included some sort of marital history, primarily widowed or divorced. Many claimed to work in male-dominated professions that were technical and high-authority in nature, such as military personnel, engineers and doctors. Yao also noticed a growing number claiming jobs in female-dominated fields. They often portrayed themselves as highly educated, frequently citing master’s degrees, and almost always claimed to be from developed countries. These details reveal subtle shifts in the swindlers’ strategies and show they “may be using a wider range of fabricated identities to align with the evolving social and digital landscape of online dating fraud,” Yao said.
The stories they tell have also shifted. Crisis scenarios, such as health emergencies, occupational struggles and financial hardship, are commonly used to elicit sympathy and reduce victims’ skepticism.
In general, Yao found that scams involving work-related crises were the most deceptive, followed by health scares. The least believable, and most likely to raise suspicion, were pleas for money to cover travel expenses for in-person meetings.
Another key finding was the psychological makeup of the victims, Yao said. A scam’s success doesn’t just depend on the story being told but also the victim’s susceptibility.
One of the study’s key findings was that even people who are usually cautious can lower their guard when the scam is highly emotional.
“Vulnerability is not just about being naïve,” Yao said. “Even skeptical, educated people can be manipulated if the scammer tells the right kind of story.”
Hope for the future
Yao is excited about the potential of her research contributing to artificial intelligence-powered solutions in the future.
“We could have a better tool where we can train AI models using machine learning techniques to identify linguistic patterns, narrative stories and identities to provide users real-time feedback on the risk level,” Yao said. “This could be a powerful force in scam prevention.”
Taking advantage of these technological capabilities is essential for people and companies to stay ahead of evolving scam strategies, and her research could guide the development of tools built directly into online platforms.
“It’s just like cybersecurity,” Yao said. “There are white hats, and there are black hats, and it’s a constant battle between everyday people and the fraudsters.”
Yao also hopes that the research could drive policy changes.
“There’s a need for centralized international databases to track fraud tactics and share victim reports,” Yao said. “Law enforcement agencies should collaborate across borders, and training programs should focus on vulnerable populations.”
Public education around scams also needs to be updated, Yao said.
“Education campaigns should move beyond generic warnings and focus on emotional manipulation tactics,” she said. “Simulated scenarios and self-assessment tools can help individuals recognize their own vulnerabilities and improve their ability to detect fraud.”
The study, “The Imperfect ‘Perfect’ Fraudster: Exploring How Vulnerability Framing, Fraudster Identity, and Victim Attachment Shape Financial Risk Perception,” was published in the European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research.
