In News - In Popular Culture Assignment PDF

Preview

Summary

In News - In Popular Culture Assignment...

Description

In News - In Popular Culture Assignment: Romance Scams The artifact that I have chosen is a short video segment from the television show “Dr. Phil” where digital deception is represented, particularly romance scams. The purpose of this clip is not only to inform a man that he has been “catfished” within an online dating environment, but also to demonstrate to the audience, and viewers at home, that digital deception, and the consequences that can come with it, is possible. Therefore, it is important for people to be careful when communicating through text-based media and avoid any forms of manipulation and exploitation on online dating sites. Broadly, digital deception is an intentional attempt to create a false belief within another person through communication technologies. Romance scams fall under this category of digital deception and is commonly referred to as “catfishing.” Within online dating platforms, criminals engage in many steps to successfully “catfish” and defraud a suitable victim, who tends to be socially isolated, lonely, and psychologically vulnerable. Their goal is to form a “relationship” and develop trust for the purpose of monetary gain. They begin by creating fake profiles, with either stolen or made up identities, including appealing posts and photographs. Once connected with a victim, catfishers exemplify immediate interest and immense attention, while also engaging in intimate self-disclosure. This is otherwise known as the “grooming stage” as communication is not only frequent, but also intense, occurring through text-based messaging for weeks to even years. Because the victim develops strong emotional feelings, catfishers take advantage of this opportunity to request small gifts. If those demands are met, they begin to escalate. Commonly, the catfisher fabricates excuses, like medical emergencies or travel expenses to see them, in order to easily obtain money without question. It is not until they no longer have enough money to pay the catfisher or they have realized there is scamming involved,

that the victim terminates his or her actions of providing money to the catfisher. Statistically, many unknowns arise among romance scams since they tend to be underreported due to the severe consequences on victims, including but not limited to financial loss and mental health problems like PTSD. Aside from feelings of embarrassment and distrust in others, people also feel extremely hurt and heartbroken since they thought they developed a deep connection with their significant other. In the video clip, the man, Dennis, was one of many catfish victims, exploited out of $211,000. He had thought he was communicating with his romantic companion from Amsterdam, Kimberly Escobar, when in reality, the name was untrackable and presumably false. After extensive research, Dr. Phil’s team was able to conclude that all of Kimberly’s claims, and excuses, were false as they portrayed a highlighted list of their overall findings. Therefore, they were able to determine that she never stayed at the specific addresses she shared, her passport was fake, etc. The interesting component within this video is that they were able to track down the photos, who belongs to a woman named Lucy, a victim in this situation as well, having no involvement besides suffering from identity fraud. She came onto the show to meet Dennis and explain how her photos were stolen (via her makeup workshops online), while also alleviating any doubts Dennis may have still had, so he would have no temptations in being further exploited. Although he endured a tremendous financial loss, Dennis, and his mother Barbara, had greater concerns regarding his well-being. Because he is a single and older man, vulnerable in his conquest for love, and had been messaging with a very alluring “Kimberly” for a seemingly substantial amount of time, Dennis fell in love with her. That loss was more challenging to overcome than the physical loss of money, which is relatable to many catfish victims. Ultimately, the main lesson from this video is that romance scams are a severe form of digital deception and

should definitely be taken into consideration when using online dating sites....