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.

翻译：未成年人面临诸多网络风险，但网络约会浪漫骗局却鲜少被视为其中之一。西方国家的浪漫骗局研究显示受害者主要为中年人，而在存在青少年婚姻文化规范的地区，未成年人是否对网络约会浪漫骗局具有特殊易感性尚不明确。本研究通过对伊朗16名未成年时期遭受网络约会浪漫骗局受害者的访谈发现：在西方主流约会应用被禁的伊朗，诈骗者通过绑定本地社区的通讯平台寻找青少年受害者，以缓解他们在寻找婚恋对象和学业表现方面承受的父母压力。通过威胁、欺骗及利用其家庭情感支持的缺失，诈骗者胁迫未成年人提供经济与性利益。本研究揭示了在针对未成年人技术媒介伤害的未来研究与解决方案中，应如何凸显本土文化语境的重要性。内容警告：本文涉及性虐待内容讨论。