Telecom fraud, particularly institutional impersonation fraud (IIF), is a significant problem in China. IIF involves fraudsters impersonating officials from various institutions (banks, police, etc.) to deceive victims into making payments. While research on telecom fraud exists, studies focusing on IIF and the nuanced identity construction of all participants are limited. Existing research often neglects the dynamic, real-time adjustments made by fraudsters during phone calls and the multiple indexical paths through which identities are projected. This study uses a discourse-analytic, identity-foregrounded approach, combining the concepts of style/styling and stance to examine how fraudsters manipulate targets by projecting identities. The study investigates how fraudsters perform self-styling and other-styling practices via stances in IIF interactions and what interactive patterns emerge from these practices. The research questions are: 1) How do fraudsters perform self-styling and other-styling practices via stances in IIF interaction? and 2) What interactive patterns are shown in self-styling and other-styling practices via stances in IIF interaction?

Phone fraud differs from email or online romance fraud due to its dynamic nature and real-time adaptation to targets' responses. Previous research has touched upon threatening language, modus operandi, and fraudster identity construction in phone fraud, but it lacks a comprehensive examination of the identity construction of targets and opponents, as well as the multiple indexical paths through which identities are projected. This study draws on social constructionist views of identity, where identity is fluid and negotiated through interaction. Style/styling and stance are key analytical categories. Styles are bundles of sociolinguistic signs, and styling is the dynamic process of their use in context. Stances are public expressions of social meaning, and repeated stance-taking creates styles. Indexicality, or contextually bounded meaning, is crucial in understanding how semiotic resources index stances, styles, and identities. Rapport management theory helps to understand the relational dynamics involved in identity projection. Previous studies have applied rapport management to various settings but its application in criminal contexts remains limited. This paper uses it to examine how fraudsters manage rapport in styling practices.

The study uses a dataset of 26 authentic recordings of IIF interactions sourced from various media, including news reports and crowdsourced data. Data were transcribed and analyzed using a discourse-analytic, identity-foregrounded approach. Stances related to self-styling, target-styling, and opponent-styling were identified through manual annotation and negotiation among authors. The coding followed Dörnyei's (2007) protocol, paying close attention to relational dynamics. Rapport management theory (Spencer-Oatey, 2000; 2005; 2008) and concepts of intertextuality and interdiscursivity (Jaffe, 2009; Candlin and Maley, 1997) were employed to analyze the use of linguistic resources in stance-taking. The analysis explored how linguistic resources, personal references, jargon, generic features, and rapport challenges (face sensitivities, sociality rights, and interactional goals) are used to project different stances and styles.

The analysis identified several key stances: Fraudsters consistently employ stances of professional authority (demonstrated through use of titles, jargon, and legal terminology, often challenging targets' face and equity rights), target avidity (showing concern for targets' interests, offering help, and using inclusive language to build solidarity), and community integrity (presenting themselves as truthful and ethical). Targets are consistently styled as being troublesome (implicated in illegal activities), innocent (framed as victims of information leakage), and needing help (requiring assistance from the fraudster). Opponents (culprits and obstacles to fraudulent success) are consistently given negative stances. Three interactive patterns emerged from the configuration of these stances: 1) The Antagonizing pattern: initially positions targets as out-groups. 2) The Pseudo-allied pattern: fraudsters create an in-group with targets, sharing a common goal of identifying the culprits. This involves managing rapport to build trust and solidarity. 3) The Selective Stance-accentuation pattern: fraudsters strategically alternate between emphasizing the Troublesome and Innocent stances, using them to manipulate targets' emotions and decision-making. This pattern resembles a see-saw, with the emphasis shifting depending on the target's compliance.

The findings demonstrate how fraudsters strategically construct and manipulate identities through stance-taking to achieve their goals. The use of professional authority and community integrity stances enhances credibility and compliance. The pseudo-allied pattern highlights the importance of rapport management in building trust and cooperation with targets. The selective stance-accentuation pattern reveals how fraudsters leverage targets' emotions to reduce information processing and increase compliance. These findings contradict some previous research suggesting that fraudsters primarily aim for cooperative relationships with targets. This research shows how antagonism plays a significant role, albeit a temporary one, in advancing the fraud. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the linguistic mechanisms underlying IIF and have implications for anti-telefraud campaigns.

This study provides a detailed linguistic analysis of identity construction in IIF, revealing the strategic use of stances and interactive patterns by fraudsters. The identified stances and patterns offer valuable resources for developing anti-telefraud materials and training programs. Future research could explore multimodal aspects of stance construction, investigate other types of telecom and online fraud, and analyze the effectiveness of different countermeasures.

This study focuses solely on the linguistic aspects of IIF and uses a relatively small dataset. Future research should consider multimodal data and larger datasets to enhance the generalizability of the findings. The study's focus on a specific type of fraud may limit the transferability of the findings to other contexts. Further research is needed to explore the cultural and social factors that influence the effectiveness of these manipulative strategies.