“What action should l take?”: Help-seeking behaviours of those targeted by romance fraud

Fraud uses deception to obtain a financial reward from its victim. There are strong negative stereotypes and victim blaming discourses towards fraud victims, with research indicating that fraud victims are unlikely to report incidents for many reasons, including a high degree of shame and stigmatisation. In this way, it can be assumed that fraud victims are averse to seeking help in the aftermath of an incident. Drawing from romance fraud reports lodged with Scamwatch (an Australian online reporting portal for fraud) between 1 July 2018 and 31 July 2019, this article examines the help-seeking behaviours of those targeted by romance fraud. The analysis found a variety of explicit and implicit help-seeking behaviours, encompassing both personal justice and altruistic reasons. The analysis demonstrates that despite the victim blaming that exists, this did not always act as a barrier to reporting or requesting help. Overall, this article challenges some of the perceived aversity to help-seeking behaviour of fraud victims. It also provides a foundation for improving responses and support to those who actively engage in help-seeking behaviour.