Cybercrimeology

Pet Scammed: narratives of cyber fraud victimization

Episode Summary

Fraud involving the sale of pets online is an emotional issue, but not one that really makes headlines as much as it perhaps should. We talk with Dr Jennifer L. Schally, Associate Teaching Professor of Criminal Justice at Pennsylvania State University and Kaylie Derrickson who share their experiences researching the narratives of victims of online pet scams. Prof. Nicolas Vermeys joins us to answer whether data interference type crime still happen.

Episode Notes

About our guests:

Dr Jennifer L. Schally

https://cjrc.la.psu.edu/people/jennifer-l-schally/

Prof Nicolas Vermeys

https://www.vermeys.com

Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:

Derrickson, K. (2023). Advance-Fee Pet Scams Through the Lens of Narrative Victimology.

https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/25084ksd5317

Whittaker, J. M., & Button, M. (2020). Understanding pet scams: A case study of advance fee and non-delivery fraud using victims’ accounts. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology53(4), 497-514.

Button, M., & Whittaker, J. (2021). Exploring the voluntary response to cyber-fraud: From vigilantism to responsibilisation. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice66, 10048

Pemberton, A., Mulder, E., & Aarten, P. G. (2019). Stories of injustice: Towards a narrative victimology. European Journal of Criminology16(4), 391-412.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1477370818770843

Other:

The American Kennel Club on “How to Spot a Puppy Scam Online”

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/puppy-information/spot-puppy-scam/

Brent, Y.(Nov 30, 2022) Beware kitten and puppy scams, as pandemic leads to spike in pet ripoffs, CBC News Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitten-pet-puppy-scam-spike-pandemic-canada-us-bbb-fraud-1.6667008