Abstract
Existing theories of fraud provide some insight into how criminals target and exploit people in the online environment; whilst reference to psychological explanations is common, the actual use of established behavioural theories and/or methods in these studies is often limited. In particular, there is less understanding of why certain people/demographics are likely to respond to fraudulent communications. This systematic review will provide a timely synthesis of the leading psychologically based literature to establish the key theories and empirical research that promise to impact on anti-fraud policies and campaigns. Relevant databases and websites were searched using terms related to psychology and fraud victimisation. A total of 44 papers were extracted and 34 included in the final analysis. The studies range in their scope and methods; overall, three main factors were identified: message (n = 6), experiential (n = 7), and dispositional (n = 21), although there was some overlap between these (for example, mapping message factors onto the dispositional traits of the victim). Despite a growing body of research, the total number of studies able to identify specific psychological processes associated with increased susceptibility to online fraud victimisation was limited. Messages are targeted to appeal to specific psychological vulnerabilities, the most successful linking message with human factors, for example, time-limited communications designed to enact peripheral rather than central information processing. Suggestions for future research and practical interventions are discussed.
Highlights
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently reported figures that show Internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation being responsible for $2.7 billion in financial losses in 2018 (FBI 2018)
The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the range of psychological factors associated with Internet-based fraud victimisation to identify the way in which Internet scams exploit inherently compromised human decision-making
The majority of evidence and subsequent beliefs we have regarding the psychological factors associated with vulnerability to online fraud are at best anecdotal and at worst in danger of creating misleading myths
Summary
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recently reported figures that show Internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation being responsible for $2.7 billion in financial losses in 2018 (FBI 2018). The annual Internet Crime Report shows that IC3 received 351,936 complaints last year—nearly 1000 per day—with non-payment/non-delivery scams, extortion, and personal data breaches the most frequently reported. Internet-based fraud was the fastest growing crime in the UK in 2015–2016, with 3.25 million victims each year and an annual combined loss of £3.6 billion (Button et al 2016). 23) provide a summary on the rising role of technology in perpetuating these crimes: ‘[i]ndeed it is estimated globally there are 29 billion spam emails daily and that the email virus rate is 1 in 196 and phishing emails are 1 in 392’. The on-going infiltration and reliance on technology into our daily lives is likely to see this trend increase in the short-to-medium term until we develop suitable strategies to stay secure online
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