Exploring the determinants of victimization and fear of online identity theft: an empirical study

Abstract

The present study aims at understanding what factors contribute to the explanation of online identity theft (OIT) victimization and fear, using the Routine Activity Theory (RAT). Additionally, it tries to uncover the influence of factors such as sociodemographic variables, offline fear of crime, and computer perception skills. Data for the present study were collected from a self-reported online survey administered to a sample of university students and staff (N = 832, 66% female). Concerning the OIT victimization, binary logistic regression analysis showed that those who do not used credit card had lower odds of becoming an OIT victim, and those who reported visiting risky contents presented higher odds of becoming an OIT victim. Moreover, males were less likely than females of being an OIT victim. In turn, fear of OIT was explained by socioeconomic status (negatively associated), education (positively associated) and by fear of crime in general (positively associated). In addition, subjects who reported more online interaction with strangers were less fearful, and those reported more avoiding behaviors reported higher levels of fear of OIT. Finally, subjects with higher computer skills are less fearful. These results will be discussed in the line of routine activities approach and implications for online preventive behaviors will be outlined.