Think before Clicking: The Role of Thoughtfully Reflective Decision Making in Predicting Phishing Email Susceptibility.

• In Event: Phishing & Smishing Scams

Abstract

While tech-savvy Gen-Z’s may boast a superior awareness of cyber scams compared to their parents’ generation, recent data indicates that young adults are more vulnerable to online victimization than older adults. This study investigates the susceptibility of undergraduate students to phishing emails across six countries: Canada, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Employing an experimental scenario-based design, this study evaluates participants' efficacy at identifying phishing emails, and surveys for a range of factors including cultural orientation, religious beliefs, interpersonal trust, self-control, and thoughtfully reflective decision-making (TRDM) among others. This presentation will focus on the role of TRDM in determining phishing vulnerability across various cultural contexts. A cognitive process marked by careful and deliberate thought, TRDM involves carefully evaluating multiple aspects and consequences before making a decision. In cybersecurity, TRDM can be crucial in recognizing and responding to phishing attempts, which typically exploit quick, unreflective reactions. The diverse demographics of our participants allow us to examine if the impact of TRDM changes from one culture to another. Preliminary findings indicate that low levels of TRDM are associated with a weak ability to correctly identify phishing emails.

Authors

• Emmet Nicol Robins, Simon Fraser University

• Richard Frank, Simon Fraser University