cybercrime against older people during covid19 pandemic dr … · cybercrime against older people...

CybercrimeagainstolderpeopleduringCOVID19pandemicDrKartikeyaTripathi,UCLJDIProfClaudiaCooper,UCLPsychiatry

TheproblemTheCOVIDlockdownhasincreasedtherisksforolderpeopleofbeingavictimofcybercrime.Vulnerabilityfactorsforcybercrime--loneliness,anxiety,stress--areincreased.Atthesametime,increasingnumbersofopportunistcriminalsaretargetingvulnerableindividualsonline.Researchshowsthatspecialisedgangstargetolderpeopleonline,astheyareespeciallyvulnerabletofrauds.Inthelockdown,olderpeople,liketheiryoungercounterparts,arespendingmoretimeonlinecreatinggreateropportunitiesforexploitation.WhatweknowaboutcybercrimeagainstolderpeopleandhowweknowitAsglobalinternetpenetrationhasincreased,sohaveincidentsofcybercrime.Theproportionofpopulationsacrosstheworldwhoareolder(aged60yearsorabove)isgrowing.Olderpeoplearealsothefastestgrowingdemographicgroupofnoviceinternetusers,commonlyusingtheinternettoaccessbanking,shoppingandhealthcaremanagementservicesandforsocialmediaandothercommunication.Liketherestofthepopulation,thegrowingadaptionofinternettechnologyhasexposedolderadultstothreatsofonlinecrime.Historically,olderpeoplehavebeenaprimetargetforfraudbecauseoffactorsincludingtheirrelativewealth,loneliness,memoryloss,beingfromagenerationcharacterisedbyhighlevelsoftrustandhesitancytoreportcrimetoauthorities.Theonlineinterfacesthatolderpeopleusetoconductcommercialtransactionshaveagenericdesignanditispossiblethatthesedesignsdonotsupportolderpeopletonegotiatethemsecurely.Forexample,memorylosshasimplicationsforuseofpasswordsandmemorableinformation,andolderpeoplemayfacechallengescomplyingwiththetechnicalspecificationsonsecurebehaviour.Fromthecriminal’sperspective,cybercrimeagainstolderpeopleisalowriskcrime.Victimisationisunder-reportedtothepoliceandevenamongthosecrimesthatarereported,veryfewendinarrestsandconvictions.Whatwethinkmighthappeninthecovid-19pandemicExtrapolatingfromtheresultsofourcross-nationalinter-disciplinarystudyoncybercrimeagainstolderpeople,incollaborationwithcolleaguesfromUCLPsychiatry,wethinkthattheCOVIDpandemicandsocietalresponsetoithascreatedaperfectstormthatcriminalswillexploittovictimiseolderpeopleonline.Forexample,olderpeopleareespeciallyvulnerabletofraudsthatofferfriendship/romanceasawayoutofloneliness,andfor'magicremedies'againsthealthailmentstheyareworriedabout.Itislikelythatboththesecrimeswillincrease.Thelockdownalsomeansthatolderpeoplearemoreisolated.Iftheydonotlivewiththeirfamilymembers,theymaybelessprotectedbyfamilysupportwhennegotiatingtheonlinespace.TherestrictionsonmovementimposedinresponsetoCoronavirushavepushedolderpeopletobankandshoponline.Incyberspace,therearenospecialsafeguardsorsupportavailableforolderpeopleasitisin

Aboutthisseries:Thisisbrief3ofaseriesofshort,speculativepapersdevelopedbytheUCLJillDandoInstitutetosupportthepoliceservicesduringthecurrentpandemic.Theraisond’êtreoftheseriesisfullydescribedat:ishttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/jill-dando-institute/research/covid-19-special-papers

physicalshopsandbankbranches.Moreover,unfamiliaritywithtechnologyandpossiblyagreaterleveloftrustinearliergenerationscanmakeolderpeopleeasytargetsformotivatedoffenders.Socialengineeringfrauds,creditcardandromancescamsaresomeofthecrimecategoriesthatwillsurgeasaresultofconditionscreatedbythepandemic.SomeideasinresponseOlderpeopleneedtoberecognisedasapotentiallyvulnerablegroupthatrequiresspecificsafeguardstoprotectthemfromcybercrime.

• Banksandonlineretailersshouldincludespecialsecurityfeaturesintheirwebsitestoprotectolderpeople

• OlderpeopleshouldgetalertsontheirphonesviaSMSwhenevertheirbankaccountsareusedforafinancialtransaction

• Olderpeopleshouldhavetheoptiontoreverseorstoppaymentsimmediatelywhentheyhavebeenvictimsofanonlinefraud

• Banksandonlineretailersshouldincreaseawarenessontheirwebsitesaboutfraudulentschemesagainstolderpeople

• Specialtoolsshouldbedevelopedtoteachsecureonlinebehaviourtoolderpeople• Theprocessofreportingonlinevictimisationshouldbemadesimple,andolderpeopleencouraged

toreportallcrimes• GPs,councilworkers,pharmacists,postofficeandbankemployeesshouldbetrainedtoidentify

signsoffinancialabuseinolderpeople• Adatabaseofwebsites,onlinehandlesandsocialmediaaccountsthatareinvolvedincybercrime

againstolderpeopleshouldbedevelopedtokeeptrackofoffendersRelevantresourcesAgeUKguidetostayingsafeonline:https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/work-learning/technology-internet/internet-security/Cook,D.M.,Szewczyk,P.,&Sansurooah,K.(2011).SecuringtheElderly:ADevelopmentalApproachtoHypermediaBasedOnlineInformationSecurityforSeniorNoviceComputerUsers.Cross,C.(2017).‘ButI’veneversentthemanypersonaldetailsapartfrommydriver’slicencenumber…’:Exploringseniors’attitudestowardsidentitycrime.SecurityJournal,30(1),74-88.Vroman,K.G.,Arthanat,S.,&Lysack,C.(2015).“Whoover65isonline?”Olderadults’dispositionstowardinformationcommunicationtechnology.ComputersinHumanBehavior,43,156-166.