Project summary

Online scams cause serious harm. Existing prevention strategies appear ineffective and based on unproven assumptions about how scams “successfully” victimise people. Thus, this project aims to advance knowledge about contemporary scams (including their design, composition, proliferation, and harm); users’ perceptions and why/how people are susceptible; and improvements for prevention. As a transdisciplinary team, we will conduct a multi-phase study containing an analysis of scams to explicate a “rubric” of key characteristics; a survey; and qualitative photo elicitation focus groups. Results will be disseminated in academic and industry forums to inform prevention, policy, and practice.


Project description

Rationale: online scams exploit our most fundamental human qualities. While there are a plethora of existing prevention guidelines/strategies, these are not founded on a deep understanding of scam characteristics most likely to victimise people, nor a deep comprehension of how individuals perceive/understand scams. Thus, we aim to answer three research questions:

  1. What features/aspects of design, composition, proliferation, and harm characterise scams that most successfully achieve their target purpose against victims?
  2. What are individuals’ perceptions, understandings, and decision-making around what constitutes an online scam and its potential for harm, and how do the characteristics of successful vs unsuccessful scams intersect with such perceptions?
  3. How can insights from both scam characteristics and everyday Internet users inform effective, evidence-based prevention?

Methodology: our study includes two interrelated phases. Phase one analyses current existing and circulating scams to develop a rubric/taxonomy of success likelihood and harm. Drawing on literature and reporting insights, each scam will be analysed for design (e.g., presentation), composition (e.g., writing style, emotions), proliferation (e.g., prevalence), and harm (e.g., financial, reputational). The rubric will then inform the selection of sample scams for research with members of the public in phase two.

In phase two, participants will be sent a survey which includes demographics questions (e.g., age, occupation) and questions about cyber security practices and awareness. We will then conduct focus groups with project participants. Photo elicitation will form the foundation, a method whereby pictures are shown to participants, and they are asked about these in both specific and open-ended ways (Banks, 2007). We will show participants different example scams (as informed by phase one) and ask about what features identify them as such; how participants recognise scams; their reasoning for engaging with scams or not; features of the online environment that may be a factor; and what prevention messages are helpful/engaging. This enables us to connect information discussed to tangible visualisations.

Innovation: our project contains multiple methods and strives to be holistic through both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It investigates how people engage with, respond to, and understand different scams that may/may not be more likely to victimise. The project is also an integration of two sub-studies drawing on multiple disciplines; thus, it combines what would often be two separate studies, thereby increasing insights and impact that each would have on their own. Results will also inform future research.


Publication

View publications


Partner organization(s)

QPSNP


Reference

Banks, M. (2007). Using visual data in qualitative research. Sage.

Project members

Lead investigator:

Dr Jonah Rimer

Senior Lecturer
School of Social Science

Other investigator(s):

Associate Professor Sarah Bennett

Associate Professor
School of Social Science

Dr John Gilmour

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Social Science

Ms Mandy Turner

Adjunct Lecturer
School of Social Science

Mr Michael Newman

Adjunct Lecturer & PhD Candidate
School of Social Science