arXiv subjects

Sima Amirkhani

Publications and source records attributed to Sima Amirkhani.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

When Suspicion Becomes Detection. Folk Deception Cues and Detection Strategies in Online Dating Romance Scams

The growth of mobile dating platforms has coincided with a rise in romance scams, in which offenders construct convincing personas to defraud users. While research on romance scams is expanding, victims lived experiences of recognizing and responding to deception in mobile-mediated interactions remain insufficiently understood. To address this gap, we conducted indepth interviews with 24 victims of online dating romance scams in Iran, where legal, social, and cultural constraints limit formal support. Our analysis identifies suspicion cues and the investigative strategies victims use to verify identities across platforms. We show that victims are not passive recipients of deception but engage in active, iterative detection practices under significant emotional, social, and relational pressure. Based on these findings, we contribute empirically grounded insights into deception cues and user driven detection work, and we discuss implications for the design of mobile technologies that better support users in identifying, resisting, and recovering from romance scams. Content Warning, This paper discusses sexual violence

cs.HC↗

arXiv2026

Talking about privacy always feels like opening a can of worms. How Intimate Partners Navigate Boundary-Setting in Mobile Phone Without Words

Mobile phones, as simultaneously personal and shared technologies, complicate how partners manage digital privacy in intimate relationships. While prior research has examined device-access practices, explicit privacy-rule negotiation, and toxic practices such as surveillance, little is known about how couples manage digital privacy without direct discussion in everyday relationships. To address this gap, we ask: How is digital privacy managed nonverbally and across different media on mobile phones? Drawing on 20 semi-structured interviews, we find that partners often regulate privacy practices through privacy silence -- the intentional avoidance of privacy-related conversations. We identify five motivations for leaving boundaries unspoken: perceiving privacy as unnecessary in intimacy, assuming implicit respect for boundaries, signaling trust and closeness, avoiding potential conflict or harm, and responding to broader societal and cultural expectations that discourage explicit privacy talk. We also identify a hierarchical grouping of content-specific privacy sensitivities, ranging from highly private domains such as financial data to lower-risk domains such as streaming accounts, and show how these priorities shift across relationship stages. These findings show how silence, culture, and content sensitivity shape everyday boundary-setting and underscore the relational and emotional dynamics underpinning mobile phone privacy management.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2026

My Parents Expectations Were Overwhelming: Online Dating Romance Scams Targeting Minors in Iran Through Exploitation of Parental Pressure

Minors are at risk of myriad harms online, yet online dating romance scams are seldom considered one of them. While research of romance scams in Western countries finds victims to predominantly be middle-age, it is unknown if minors in geographic regions with cultural norms around teenage marriage are uniquely susceptible to online dating romance scams. We present an interview study with 16 victims of online dating romance scams in Iran who were minors when scammed. Findings show that, with westernized dating apps banned in Iran, scammers find teenage victims through messaging platforms tethered to local neighborhoods, offering relief for parental pressures around finding a marital partner and academic performance. Using threats, lies, and exploitation of emotional attachment lacking from their families, scammers pressured minors into financial and sexual favors. The study demonstrates how local cultural context should be foregrounded in future research on, and solutions for, technology-mediated harm against minors. Content Warning: This paper discusses sexual abuse.

cs.HC↗