Routine Online Activity and Internet Fraud Targeting: Extending the Generality of Routine Activity Theory

Abstract

Routine activity theory predicts that changes in legitimate opportunity structures (e.g., technology) can increase the convergence of motivated offenders and suitable targets in the absence of capable guardianship. The Internet has fundamentally changed consumer practices and has simultaneously expanded opportunities for cyber-fraudsters to target online consumers. The authors draw on routine activity theory and consumer behavior research to understand how personal characteristics and online routines increase people’s exposure to motivated offenders. Using a representative sample of 922 adults from a statewide survey in Florida, the results of the regression models are consistent with prior research in that sociodemographic characteristics shape routine online activity (e.g., spending time online and making online purchases). Furthermore, indicators of routine online activity fully mediate the effect of sociodemographic characteristics on the likelihood of being targeted for fraud online. These findings support the routine activity perspective and provide a theoretically informed direction for situational crime prevention in a largely unexplored consumer context.

Testing a Typology of Mobile Phone Victimisation Using Cluster Analysis

“…According to Holt and Bossler (2008), recent researchers have argued that the lifestyle-routine activities theory may be able to explain the increasingly significant phenomenon of computer and cybercrime. For example, according to Pratt et al (2010), LRAT predicts that changes in legitimate opportunity structures (for example, technology) can increase the convergence of motivated offenders and suitable targets in the absence of capable guardianship (Pratt et al, 2010). Additionally, Marcum et al (2010) claim that LRAT may explain online victimisation of youth as routine activity such as more time spent online, especially using social network sites, may increase the likelihood of being exposed to a motivated offender.…”

Financial consumer protection: internet banking fraud awareness by the banking sector

“…Tewksbury & Mustaine (2010) emphasized the central part of routine activity theory as three indispensable locational rudiments that must exist for crime to happen, that is existence of budding delinquent (internet fraudster), incidence of apt targets (financial consumers), and nonexistence of capable and enthusiastic guardians (lack of protection by banks). The transformations in legitimate opportunity structures such as technology can increase the convergence of enthused reprobates and suitable targets in the dearth of capable protection (Pratt et al, 2010). The internet banking has principally changed consumer practices and has concurrently extended opportunities for internet fraudsters to mark internet banking consumers.…”

Actividades cotidianas de los jóvenes en Internet y victimización por malware

“…Otros, en cambio, se han centrado en identificar de manera empírica, con mayor o menor acierto, cada uno de los elementos que conforman el triángulo del delito (agresor, víctima/objetivo y guardián) (Bossler y Holt, 2009;Choi, 2008;Holt y Bossler, 2013;Hutchings y Hayes, 2009;Leukfeldt, 2015;Leukfeldt y Yar, 2016;Marcum et al, 2010;Miró, 2013;Ngo y Paternoster, 2011;Pratt et al, 2010;Reyns, 2010Reyns, , 2013Reyns, , 2015Reyns y Henson, 2015;Wilsem, 2011;Yucedal, 2010). Estos autores no llegan a un acuerdo sobre cómo deben ser conceptualizados y medidos los elementos de la TAC en el ciberespacio (García-Guilabert, 2014), pero de sus estudios se puede obtener una serie de factores que pueden ser considerados de riesgo en la medida en que incrementan la posibilidad de convertirse en víctimas en el ciberespacio.…”

“…De acuerdo con el planteamiento de Miró (2011;2012), para hacerse visible en el ciberespacio hay que interaccionar, y esto es concretamente para sufrir un ataque de malware: descargar videojuegos, música y películas (Choi, 2008;Leukfeldt, 2015), abrir cualquier archivo adjunto o enlaces recibido por correo electrónico o mensajería instantánea (Choi, 2008), tener amigos que consuman pornografía en línea, compartir con otra persona archivos piratas (Bossler y Holt, 2009), hacer reservas por Internet, usar las redes Natalia-García Guilabert sociales (Reyns, 2015) y comprar por Internet (Leukfeldt, 2015). Estas mismas acciones también han sido relacionadas con otras formas de cibercriminalidad económica como el fraude, phishing o el robo de identidad (Ngo y Paternoster, 2011;Pratt et al, 2010;Reyns, 2013;Reyns y Henson, 2015).…”