Introduction and research questions/hypothesis
“‘Elder Scam’ Risk Profiles: Individual and Situational Factors of Younger and Older Age Groups’ Fraud Victimization,” written by Katalin Parti, Ph.D., and published in the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime in November of 2022, collected quantitative and qualitative data from 2,558 individuals who were remaining in the final sample of a survey conducted in the United States. The main research questions this article seeks to answer are how “elder scams” disproportionately affect people who are over 60 years of age, what the variables of victimization on certain types of cyber offenses are, what factors are strong predictors of victimization, and what potential solutions could be available. The hypothesis is that elderly individuals are at a higher risk of being scammed than younger ones.
Situational and individual variables of victimization
In the article, Parti (2022) explains the effects of situational variables of victimization on online fraud and scams. These are situations which can be attributed to the Lifestyle Routine Activities Theory (LRAT). This theory suggests that the daily activities of an individual can be a factor in their victimization, especially if the individual participates in any risky activities. Risky activities in cyberspace can include things such as the usage of social media and email, as these platforms provide opportunities for scammers to target potential victims. Purchasing items from online marketplaces, through the mail, and over the phone can also increase the risk of becoming a target. Another variable mentioned is the use of digital-capable technical guardians, which is used to refer to security software. The motivator for including this is due to the possibility of an individual gaining a false sense of protection with antivirus software installed. Lastly, low self-control is applied to this study, which is a term used to describe the ability to “exercise personal restraint” against temptation and easy gratification (Parti 2022).
Factors related to the vulnerability of older individuals
Within the above variables, there are additional factors that should be considered in the victimization of elderly individuals. The first of which suggests that older people are more vulnerable to fraud than younger ones. This may be due to decreased cognition, feeling overly confident in one’s financial knowledge, and being more willing to take financial risks. A second factor is the low-level of fraud reporting in older individuals. Some victims may choose to never report their victimization, because they’re afraid they’ll be blamed by their loved ones. Additionally, older adults want to maintain their financial independence for as long as they possibly can. A third factor is the social isolation of older people; if an individual lives alone, then they’re also less likely to choose to seek help regarding financial decisions. Furthermore, older people are likely to be taken advantage of if they don’t have any family or friends that they can trust in the protection of their assets.
Research method and survey results
The author then describes the sample of survey data collected for this study. First, it’s worth noting that the final number of respondents was previously mentioned; this is due to the fact that 114 respondents were excluded from the survey, either because they did not complete the survey, or because they sped through the questions. Researchers used the services of a company called Dynata to conduct the survey, and they recruited participants by “utilizing random digit dialing, banner ads, and other permission-based techniques” (Parti 2022).
Ultimately, the survey data supported the findings of other researchers who had previously formed “a connection between low self-control and cybercrime victimization” (Parti 2022). The main reason stated for this finding is that scammers are sadly able to easily manipulate older people by playing into their emotions, especially if the scammer pretends to be a family member of their targets. The online activities that place young individuals at risk often include things such as online dating and playing video games. It was concluded that paying money to scammers will result in putting individuals at a great risk of being victimized again in the future regardless of their age (with the exception of company impersonation scams). It’s also mentioned again that the installation of either an antivirus or a firewall did not help in the prevention of online scam victimization either. This is due to the fact that scammers utilize “social engineering techniques to extract money or private information from targets”, which is something that only computer users can protect themselves from; security software cannot be used to protect against scams (Parti 2022).
Relation to social science principles and concepts from class
The topic covered in this article relates to some of the principles of social sciences. For example, parsimony was referenced by this study while discussing self-control. The article states that self-control is the main factor in the general theory of crime; however, despite the fact that this theory was originally used to explain criminal offending, it is now also being used to explain victimization. This relates to an example of a theory called “self-control theory” in Module 2, which showed connections between low self-control, cybercrime offending, and victimization. The ethical neutrality principle could be used because of how the article briefly mentions that survey participants were recruited using permission-based techniques. This relates to an example question in Module 2, with an underlying ethical implication that social scientists might address, which asked about what companies are doing with data they gather from individuals. The article states that Dynata was used for this survey, which provides a detailed privacy policy that addresses these concerns. The determinism principle could even be used as it mainly focuses on behavior being caused by preceding events. For example, earlier in the course we covered a few examples of questions related to cybersecurity, with one of them asking about why individuals engage in risky online activities. There were a couple of points in the article that can answer this question. Firstly, social media and email can become platforms for cybercriminals to target their victims, if an individual isn’t trained on how to avoid becoming a victim to social engineering. And secondly, if an individual does become a victim, it’s likely because he or she lost self-control due to their emotions being manipulated by the offender.
Data types and analysis
The article discusses the types of data that were collected and analyzed in the survey. Self-control (SC) and LRAT were controlled for the survey’s demographic variables. In order to examine SC, participants answered true or false questions (unless “a bit true” was specified). And LRAT was measured using the following variable groups: “exposure to motivated offenders, target suitability, and capable guardianship” (Parti 2022). Lastly, there were various scam scenarios provided to serve as the dependent variables, which included “private info scam, IT support scam, grandparent scam, company impersonation scam, advance fee fraud, and romance scam” (Parti 2022). This collected data was then used to analyze victimization patterns within both younger and older individuals, using logistic regression.
Challenges, concerns, and contributions of marginalized groups
The article emphasized the importance of considering a marginalized group throughout the study. Earlier in the course we discussed how marginalized groups include women, children, the elderly, people who are either physically or cognitively impaired, racial/cultural minorities, and more. However, this article focuses heavily on the elderly, due to the fact that the majority of people from older generations had to become digitally literate at an older age than younger generations have. In fact, it was stated in the survey’s analytical plan that age 55 was used as the “dividend between ‘younger’ and ‘older’ adults” (Parti 2022). This is because generations of people who are currently aged 55 or older did not grow up with computers and the Internet.
Societal contributions and conclusion
One of the overall societal contributions of the study is the fact that its main objective is to determine what needs to be researched further in an effort to defend the “baby boomers” generation. The article mentions that according to AARP, as of 2019, this generation “is worth about $9 trillion in the United States alone and climbing” (Parti 2022). This is one of the reasons why they’re targeted by offenders, along with the fact that they’re typically less experienced with computers and the Internet, and they’re sadly beginning to experience a cognitive decline as they reach an advanced age. As further research is conducted over time, social scientists and cybersecurity experts can work together to determine what additional data should be collected in future surveys in order to provide more adequate measurements of scam victimization. This would improve our understanding of how individuals are victimized, and what prevention strategies can be applied to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.
References
Parti, K. (2022, November 1). “Elder Scam” Risk Profiles: Individual and Situational Factors of Younger and Older Age Groups’ Fraud Victimization. Virtual Commons – Bridgewater State University. https://vc.bridgew.edu/ijcic/vol5/iss3/3