The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud

With the rapid development of the Internet, online fraud has evolved, posing a serious threat to people’s financial security. Susceptibility to online fraud refers to an individual’s vulnerability to Internet fraud, which was assessed in this study using the fraud material assessment paradigm. This...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ce Lyu, Shenghan Gao, Qingqi Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1508363/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849715549307666432
author Ce Lyu
Shenghan Gao
Qingqi Zhang
author_facet Ce Lyu
Shenghan Gao
Qingqi Zhang
author_sort Ce Lyu
collection DOAJ
description With the rapid development of the Internet, online fraud has evolved, posing a serious threat to people’s financial security. Susceptibility to online fraud refers to an individual’s vulnerability to Internet fraud, which was assessed in this study using the fraud material assessment paradigm. This study employed a 2 × 2 two-factor mixed experimental design to examine the effects of time pressure (present vs. absent) and fraud type (profit-taking vs. loss-avoidance) on susceptibility to online fraud. In the pre-study, real-life Internet fraud cases were adapted into legitimate and illegitimate materials, which were then rated. In the formal experiment, participants in the pressure group and control group assessed the legitimacy of these materials. The findings revealed that: (1) time pressure had a significant main effect, with participants exhibiting higher susceptibility to online fraud under time pressure than without it; (2) fraud type had a significant main effect, with susceptibility being higher for loss-avoidance fraud compared to profit-taking fraud; (3) a significant interaction effect was observed, where time pressure increased susceptibility to loss-avoidance fraud but had no significant effect on profit-taking fraud. These results suggest that time constraints and fraud types interact to influence an individual’s ability to resist online fraud. The findings provide insights for fraud prevention strategies, emphasizing the need to mitigate time pressure effects and educate individuals on different fraud types.
format Article
id doaj-art-c8a7ce17c64648a4938712e03635f3c7
institution DOAJ
issn 1664-1078
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychology
spelling doaj-art-c8a7ce17c64648a4938712e03635f3c72025-08-20T03:13:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-04-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15083631508363The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraudCe Lyu0Shenghan Gao1Qingqi Zhang2School of Sociology, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Sociology, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Criminal Justice, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, ChinaWith the rapid development of the Internet, online fraud has evolved, posing a serious threat to people’s financial security. Susceptibility to online fraud refers to an individual’s vulnerability to Internet fraud, which was assessed in this study using the fraud material assessment paradigm. This study employed a 2 × 2 two-factor mixed experimental design to examine the effects of time pressure (present vs. absent) and fraud type (profit-taking vs. loss-avoidance) on susceptibility to online fraud. In the pre-study, real-life Internet fraud cases were adapted into legitimate and illegitimate materials, which were then rated. In the formal experiment, participants in the pressure group and control group assessed the legitimacy of these materials. The findings revealed that: (1) time pressure had a significant main effect, with participants exhibiting higher susceptibility to online fraud under time pressure than without it; (2) fraud type had a significant main effect, with susceptibility being higher for loss-avoidance fraud compared to profit-taking fraud; (3) a significant interaction effect was observed, where time pressure increased susceptibility to loss-avoidance fraud but had no significant effect on profit-taking fraud. These results suggest that time constraints and fraud types interact to influence an individual’s ability to resist online fraud. The findings provide insights for fraud prevention strategies, emphasizing the need to mitigate time pressure effects and educate individuals on different fraud types.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1508363/fullonline fraudtime pressuretype of fraudsusceptibility to fraudInternet fraud
spellingShingle Ce Lyu
Shenghan Gao
Qingqi Zhang
The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud
Frontiers in Psychology
online fraud
time pressure
type of fraud
susceptibility to fraud
Internet fraud
title The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud
title_full The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud
title_fullStr The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud
title_full_unstemmed The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud
title_short The impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud
title_sort impact of time pressure and type of fraud on susceptibility to online fraud
topic online fraud
time pressure
type of fraud
susceptibility to fraud
Internet fraud
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1508363/full
work_keys_str_mv AT celyu theimpactoftimepressureandtypeoffraudonsusceptibilitytoonlinefraud
AT shenghangao theimpactoftimepressureandtypeoffraudonsusceptibilitytoonlinefraud
AT qingqizhang theimpactoftimepressureandtypeoffraudonsusceptibilitytoonlinefraud
AT celyu impactoftimepressureandtypeoffraudonsusceptibilitytoonlinefraud
AT shenghangao impactoftimepressureandtypeoffraudonsusceptibilitytoonlinefraud
AT qingqizhang impactoftimepressureandtypeoffraudonsusceptibilitytoonlinefraud