Realist review to develop a model of vulnerabilities to cybercrime in the UK older population

Research summary

The proportion of populations across the world who are older (aged 60 years or above) is growing. Older people are also the fastest growing demographic group of novice internet users, commonly using it to access banking, shopping and healthcare management services and for social media and other communication. Historically, older people have been a prime target for fraud because of factors including their relative wealth, loneliness, memory loss, being from a generation characterised by high levels of trust and hesitancy to report the crime to authorities. A move to close down physical bank branches, encouraging their customers to conduct commercial transactions online, may also heighten this vulnerability. Without appropriate safeguards and support to navigate (or circumvent) this new terrain safely however, global digitalisation could lead to an epidemic of cybercrime victimisation. 

The online interfaces that older people use to conduct commercial transactions have a generic design and it is possible that these designs are not supporting older people to negotiate them securely. For example, memory loss has implications for use of passwords and memorable information, and older people may face challenges complying with the technical specifications on secure behaviour. From the criminal’s perspective, cybercrime against older people is a low risk crime.  

This project will carry out a scoping review aimed at informing stakeholders planning future intervention approaches to increase cyber security for vulnerable older adults. Stakeholders need to know what interventions, for whom, and in what context.

Policy briefing

A policy briefing document has been prepared for this project, entitled “Older adults as victims of online financial crime”. The briefing is available by clicking here.