Qualitative Exploration of Factors Influencing Trust and Engagement in Social Engineering: The Role of Visual and Demographic Cues

This qualitative study explores the factors influencing an individual's trust and engagement with potential social engineers, based on the latter's demographic and visual cues. We developed and validated 16 personas, each with distinct demographics and visual cues. These personas were presented to participants, offering the use of their mobile internet hotspot in a scenario that simulates a situation in which the participant loses internet connectivity. Participants from Arab and European countries expressed their trust levels and reactions to different groups of personas, who approach the participant with the hotspot offer. The responses were collected through semi-structured interviews and transcribed using Microsoft Teams. Utilizing thematic analysis, the findings indicate that trust factors are profoundly shaped by stereotypical perceptions and heuristics, particularly those associated with demographics and visual cues. Furthermore, the analysis revealed various interaction patterns, including situational context and gender-related interaction initiation, which had an impact on trust and engagement choices with personas. This underscores the role of individual factors, such as personal experiences and psychological predispositions, in conjunction with cultural and social norms, in shaping an individual's trust and perceptions. These insights underscore the importance of targeted interventions, such as awareness programs and debiasing strategies, which have proven effective in other domains like education and health. Such interventions are essential for enhancing digital security measures and empowering individuals to critically assess and mitigate risks associated with social engineering attempts.