A Survey of Scam Exposure, Victimization, Types, Vectors, and Reporting in 12 Countries

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2407.12896v1
• Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:35:56 GMT
• Title: A Survey of Scam Exposure, Victimization, Types, Vectors, and Reporting in 12 Countries
• Authors: Mo Houtti, Abhishek Roy, Venkata Narsi Reddy Gangula, Ashley Marie Walker,
• Abstract summary: The present study addresses this gap through a nationally representative survey on scam exposure, victimization, types, vectors, and reporting in 12 countries. We find, first, that residents of less affluent countries suffer financial loss from scams more often. Second, we find that the internet plays a key role in scams across the globe, and that GNI per-capita is strongly associated with specific scam types and contact vectors.
• Score: 3.2545498077804083
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Scams are a widespread issue with severe consequences for both victims and perpetrators, but existing data collection is fragmented, precluding global and comparative local understanding. The present study addresses this gap through a nationally representative survey (n = 8,369) on scam exposure, victimization, types, vectors, and reporting in 12 countries: Belgium, Egypt, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. We analyze 6 survey questions to build a detailed quantitative picture of the scams landscape in each country, and compare across countries to identify global patterns. We find, first, that residents of less affluent countries suffer financial loss from scams more often. Second, we find that the internet plays a key role in scams across the globe, and that GNI per-capita is strongly associated with specific scam types and contact vectors. Third, we find widespread under-reporting, with residents of less affluent countries being less likely to know how to report a scam. Our findings contribute valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in the online fraud and scam prevention space.

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