Fangzhou Wang
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 4199068 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Fangzhou Wang |
| PRENOMES | Fangzhou |
| SOBRENOME | Wang |
| ASSINATURA | WANG F |
| AFILIAÇÕES | The University of Texas at Arlington |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6212-3047 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 17 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 10 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 17 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2021 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 2 |
Introduction to Special Issue
This special issue examines online financial crime and global responses, bringing together 10 empirical studies from diverse disciplines. As digital technologies reshape financial systems, offenses such as online fraud, identity theft, ransomware, and cryptocurrency-related crime have expanded in scale and complexity, generating significant harm. The contributions analyze offender behavior, victimization patterns, and guardianship across digital …
A scoping review of online romance scams
This scoping review synthesizes findings from 62 empirical studies to develop a typology of online romance scams, distinguishing between advance fee romance scams (AFRS) and investment-based romance scams (InvRS). The analysis reveals that while both rely on early-stage emotional manipulation and trust building, they diverge markedly in operational mechanisms and technological sophistication. AFRS typically use fabricated crises and prolonged emo…
Affordances, dread, and online fraud
We investigate how the affordances of an online context shape the processes of social learning. Using a dataset of more than 11,000 posts from the fraud subdread on the dark web forum Dread, we examine how affordances of platform governance, connectivity, anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, and limited oversight influence the components of social learning theory (SLT). We find that the affordances of this context introduce intermediaries who…
Constructing a typology of Cybercrime-Related money mule offenders
Not All Money Is the Same
In this study, we explore the various ways online fraudsters define money through an analysis of posts on fraud-centered message boards located on the dark web forum Dread. Our examination of over 4,000 posts from 2019 to 2024 finds that online fraudsters view money in several conceptually distinct ways: as easy, difficult, tangible, initial, and risky. We add to understanding of the multifaceted character of digital money and the ways offenders …
A Quantitative Analysis on the Sentencing Disparity in Online Romance Scam Cases in United States
An online romance scam occurs when a criminal creates a fake online identity to manipulate a victim into developing affection and trust before financially exploiting them. It has resulted in billions of dollars in losses globally, impacting victims financially emotionally. Based on focal concern theory, this study is the first to examine the fairness of sentencing for this group of scammers in the United States. The study quantitatively analyzes …
Sentencing Disparity and Focal Concern
Sha Zhu Pan (杀猪盘), or Pig-Butchering scam, is a new online romance scam that mainly targets Chinese-speaking individuals to gain emotional trust and persuade victims to invest in a fictitious website controlled by the scammer group. The substantial economic loss forced the Chinese government to launch a series of judicial campaigns against this crime. Regardless, Sha Zhu Pan has not been significantly curbed but intensified and spread from mainla…
A Crime Script Analysis of Pao Fen Operations and the Construction of Prevention Strategies
Pao Fen has emerged as a prominent cyber-enabled money laundering mechanism across East and Southeast Asia, especially within China’s digital financial system. Characterized by rapid, decentralized fund transfers and heavy reliance on personal bank accounts and mobile payment platforms, Pao Fen operations are deeply embedded in digital infrastructures and criminal subcultures. This study presents the first empirically grounded crime script analys…
The prevention of online romance scams using a crime script analysis from the victim’s perspective
The escalating menace of online romance scams (ORS), exploiting human vulnerabilities and trust through social engineering, necessitates robust preventive strategies. This study pioneers the development of victim script, utilizing Crime Script Analysis to map the decision-making process of victims and highlight potential intervention points for preventing scams. Drawing from a prior comprehensive data set of verified victim testimonials, the rese…
AI can be cyberbullying perpetrators
Victim-offender overlap
The cyber-industrialization of catfishing and romance fraud
Online Harassment
The current study employs a construct from the criminological literature, thoughtfully reflective decision-making (TRDM), to understand cyber offenders’ decision-making and offer relevant insights to prevent online harassment. Using a sample of Iranian high school students ( N = 366), we employ OLS and SEM to test whether and how TRDM, perceived deterrence, and prior victimization influence the most common forms of online harassment: cyberbullyin…
Breaking the silence
Sextortion is the threat to distribute intimate, sexual materials unless a victim complies with particular demands. Cyber sextortion, specifically, takes advantage of the Internet’s anonymous nature and uses explicit personal images to inflict harm on victims. Despite this crime’s serious nature, there is a dearth of empirical knowledge of sextortion, particularly the process of fear management for the victims. This article employed a qualitative…
Neutralizations, Altercasting, and Online Romance Fraud Victimizations
In the present study we draw from data collected from 87 online romance fraudsters to explore whether and how offenders may suggest neutralizations to victims as a means to facilitate their crimes. Through thematic analysis of a series of e-mails exchanged with each fraudster we find that they encourage victims to neutralize their misgivings about sending them money in four overlapping ways. First, fraudsters appeal to vicarious necessity or impl…
What Money Can Do
With the advent of the internet, romance fraud – or instances wherein individuals use fake identities and sham romantic relationships to defraud others – has moved online. Victims of this crime experience harms to their financial, social, and personal well-being. While researchers have made strides in exploring this crime from the perspective of victims, little research has investigated it using data drawn from the persons committing the crime. M…
Website Defacer Classification
Hackers often engage in website defacement early in their criminal careers to establish a reputation. Some hackers become increasingly prolific and launch a large number of attacks against their targets, whereas others only launch a few attacks before eventually desisting from a life of crime. A better understanding of why some hackers launch a large number of attacks, while others do not, will assist in the implementation of targeted interventio…
What Money Can Do
With the advent of the internet, romance fraud – or instances wherein individuals use fake identities and sham romantic relationships to defraud others – has moved online. Victims of this crime experience harms to their financial, social, and personal well-being. While researchers have made strides in exploring this crime from the perspective of victims, little research has investigated it using data drawn from the persons committing the crime. M…
Breaking the silence
Sextortion is the threat to distribute intimate, sexual materials unless a victim complies with particular demands. Cyber sextortion, specifically, takes advantage of the Internet’s anonymous nature and uses explicit personal images to inflict harm on victims. Despite this crime’s serious nature, there is a dearth of empirical knowledge of sextortion, particularly the process of fear management for the victims. This article employed a qualitative…
Neutralizations, Altercasting, and Online Romance Fraud Victimizations
In the present study we draw from data collected from 87 online romance fraudsters to explore whether and how offenders may suggest neutralizations to victims as a means to facilitate their crimes. Through thematic analysis of a series of e-mails exchanged with each fraudster we find that they encourage victims to neutralize their misgivings about sending them money in four overlapping ways. First, fraudsters appeal to vicarious necessity or impl…
The prevention of online romance scams using a crime script analysis from the victim’s perspective
The escalating menace of online romance scams (ORS), exploiting human vulnerabilities and trust through social engineering, necessitates robust preventive strategies. This study pioneers the development of victim script, utilizing Crime Script Analysis to map the decision-making process of victims and highlight potential intervention points for preventing scams. Drawing from a prior comprehensive data set of verified victim testimonials, the rese…
Website Defacer Classification
Hackers often engage in website defacement early in their criminal careers to establish a reputation. Some hackers become increasingly prolific and launch a large number of attacks against their targets, whereas others only launch a few attacks before eventually desisting from a life of crime. A better understanding of why some hackers launch a large number of attacks, while others do not, will assist in the implementation of targeted interventio…
Website Defacer Classification
Hackers often engage in website defacement early in their criminal careers to establish a reputation. Some hackers become increasingly prolific and launch a large number of attacks against their targets, whereas others only launch a few attacks before eventually desisting from a life of crime. A better understanding of why some hackers launch a large number of attacks, while others do not, will assist in the implementation of targeted interventio…
What Money Can Do
With the advent of the internet, romance fraud – or instances wherein individuals use fake identities and sham romantic relationships to defraud others – has moved online. Victims of this crime experience harms to their financial, social, and personal well-being. While researchers have made strides in exploring this crime from the perspective of victims, little research has investigated it using data drawn from the persons committing the crime. M…
Victim-offender overlap
The cyber-industrialization of catfishing and romance fraud
Online Harassment
The current study employs a construct from the criminological literature, thoughtfully reflective decision-making (TRDM), to understand cyber offenders’ decision-making and offer relevant insights to prevent online harassment. Using a sample of Iranian high school students ( N = 366), we employ OLS and SEM to test whether and how TRDM, perceived deterrence, and prior victimization influence the most common forms of online harassment: cyberbullyin…
Breaking the silence
Sextortion is the threat to distribute intimate, sexual materials unless a victim complies with particular demands. Cyber sextortion, specifically, takes advantage of the Internet’s anonymous nature and uses explicit personal images to inflict harm on victims. Despite this crime’s serious nature, there is a dearth of empirical knowledge of sextortion, particularly the process of fear management for the victims. This article employed a qualitative…
Neutralizations, Altercasting, and Online Romance Fraud Victimizations
In the present study we draw from data collected from 87 online romance fraudsters to explore whether and how offenders may suggest neutralizations to victims as a means to facilitate their crimes. Through thematic analysis of a series of e-mails exchanged with each fraudster we find that they encourage victims to neutralize their misgivings about sending them money in four overlapping ways. First, fraudsters appeal to vicarious necessity or impl…
Constructing a typology of Cybercrime-Related money mule offenders
Not All Money Is the Same
In this study, we explore the various ways online fraudsters define money through an analysis of posts on fraud-centered message boards located on the dark web forum Dread. Our examination of over 4,000 posts from 2019 to 2024 finds that online fraudsters view money in several conceptually distinct ways: as easy, difficult, tangible, initial, and risky. We add to understanding of the multifaceted character of digital money and the ways offenders …
A Quantitative Analysis on the Sentencing Disparity in Online Romance Scam Cases in United States
An online romance scam occurs when a criminal creates a fake online identity to manipulate a victim into developing affection and trust before financially exploiting them. It has resulted in billions of dollars in losses globally, impacting victims financially emotionally. Based on focal concern theory, this study is the first to examine the fairness of sentencing for this group of scammers in the United States. The study quantitatively analyzes …
Sentencing Disparity and Focal Concern
Sha Zhu Pan (杀猪盘), or Pig-Butchering scam, is a new online romance scam that mainly targets Chinese-speaking individuals to gain emotional trust and persuade victims to invest in a fictitious website controlled by the scammer group. The substantial economic loss forced the Chinese government to launch a series of judicial campaigns against this crime. Regardless, Sha Zhu Pan has not been significantly curbed but intensified and spread from mainla…
A Crime Script Analysis of Pao Fen Operations and the Construction of Prevention Strategies
Pao Fen has emerged as a prominent cyber-enabled money laundering mechanism across East and Southeast Asia, especially within China’s digital financial system. Characterized by rapid, decentralized fund transfers and heavy reliance on personal bank accounts and mobile payment platforms, Pao Fen operations are deeply embedded in digital infrastructures and criminal subcultures. This study presents the first empirically grounded crime script analys…
The prevention of online romance scams using a crime script analysis from the victim’s perspective
The escalating menace of online romance scams (ORS), exploiting human vulnerabilities and trust through social engineering, necessitates robust preventive strategies. This study pioneers the development of victim script, utilizing Crime Script Analysis to map the decision-making process of victims and highlight potential intervention points for preventing scams. Drawing from a prior comprehensive data set of verified victim testimonials, the rese…
AI can be cyberbullying perpetrators
Introduction to Special Issue
This special issue examines online financial crime and global responses, bringing together 10 empirical studies from diverse disciplines. As digital technologies reshape financial systems, offenses such as online fraud, identity theft, ransomware, and cryptocurrency-related crime have expanded in scale and complexity, generating significant harm. The contributions analyze offender behavior, victimization patterns, and guardianship across digital …
A scoping review of online romance scams
This scoping review synthesizes findings from 62 empirical studies to develop a typology of online romance scams, distinguishing between advance fee romance scams (AFRS) and investment-based romance scams (InvRS). The analysis reveals that while both rely on early-stage emotional manipulation and trust building, they diverge markedly in operational mechanisms and technological sophistication. AFRS typically use fabricated crises and prolonged emo…
Affordances, dread, and online fraud
We investigate how the affordances of an online context shape the processes of social learning. Using a dataset of more than 11,000 posts from the fraud subdread on the dark web forum Dread, we examine how affordances of platform governance, connectivity, anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, and limited oversight influence the components of social learning theory (SLT). We find that the affordances of this context introduce intermediaries who…
Crime Patterns and Interventions (12 obras) · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies (12 obras) · Computer Science (9 obras) · Psychology (8 obras) · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance (7 obras) · Political science (6 obras) · Romance (6 obras) · Social Psychology (6 obras) · Business (4 obras) · Computer security (4 obras)