Deception is a pervasive feature of the online marketplace: from phone calls by fake tech support workers at Microsoft, to fraudulent emails asking for advance fee payment, and fake postings for jobs on employment platforms. Building off interdisciplinary discussions within science and technology studies (STS), this special issue expands research on the underside, illicit, and irregular forms of digital behavior. Our focus is on how scams, fakes, and frauds are embedded in the digital economy. In particular, we look at the institutions shaping online scams, the labor involved in performing and/or navigating them, and the role of platforms in hosting them.
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