*Warning: This episode contains descriptions of fraud and exploitation*

To what lengths would you go for love? A sweet selfie, thoughtful good morning texts, or late-night phone calls might come to mind. But what about sending over £10,000 to someone you've never met in person?

It might sound far-fetched, but last year alone, more than 8,000 people in the UK fell victim to romance fraud - losing money to scammers who preyed on their hearts.

In this episode of Writing Wrongs, Nicci and Tim are joined by criminologist Dr Elisabeth Carter to unpack the manipulative language of romance scams.

Together, they explore how scammers build trust, how victims are drawn in - and how you can protect yourself in the ever-evolving world of online dating.

More information

For a list of our sources and more information about this case, please visit https://www.aston.ac.uk/writing-wrongs

Have a question for Nicci or Tim? Email us at writingwrongs@aston.ac.uk and we may answer it during an upcoming episode!

Check out the official AIFL blog for more forensic linguistic goodies here: https://medium.com/@AIFLblog

If you have been affected by any of the themes in this week’s episode, please contact one of these free sources:

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

https://www.helpguide.org/find-help

Production Team: Sam Cook, Jordan Robertson, Neus Alberich Buera

Sound: Sam Cook

Visual design: George Grant

Additional Voices: Sam Cook (Roger), Jordan Robertson (Camilla)

With our thanks to Dr Elisabeth Carter

Resources

Professor Tim Grant’s home page: Tim Grant - Aston Research Explorer

Dr Nicci MacLeod’s home page: Nicci MacLeod - Aston Research Explorer

Dr Elisabeth Carter home page: Dr Elisabeth Carter | Kingston University London

Guide to spotting romance fraudsters:

https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/police-forces/thames-valley-police/areas/c/2020/a-guide-to-spotting-romance-fraudsters/