Assessing the Gendered Risks of Online Fraud Victimization in a General Population Sample

Fraud results in billions of losses each year. While research has examined fraud victimization risk, it is less clear how online routine activities are associated with fraud risk, and how gender differentially influences risk. Using a sample of Michigan-based respondents ( n = 1,203), and subsamples of men ( n = 570) and women ( n = 633), the study assessed the association between routine activities and fraud victimization. Results suggested that online behaviors relating to gaming and social media usage were associated with risk of fraud victimization, and that the correlates of risk varied by gender. Online platforms related to these behaviors can provide education about present threats and security practices which can provide further guardianship to victimization. Fraud refers to a broad range of activities characterized by deception and misrepresentation of the truth for the purposes of either securing an advantage or disadvantaging others. Fraud is one of the most widespread forms of crime in the United States, with recent estimates from the National Crime Victimization Survey Supplemental Fraud Survey (NCVS-SFS) suggesting that approximately 3 million adults experienced fraud in the United States in 2017, resulting in approximately $3.2 billion in losses.