Experiences of Digital Fraud Victimization and Indicators of Digital Social Risk among Older Adults

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) study the experiences of older adults who had been deceived by scammers in the digital society, and 2) construct and analyze the content validity of indicators for assessing digital social risks among older adults. The study employed research and development design, divided into two phases. In the first phase, a case study approach was used. Key informants were purposively selected, including 15 participants: 10 older adults with experiences of digital fraud living in the urban area of Phitsanulok Province, and 5 cyber police officers. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and non-participant observation and analyzed using content analysis. In the second phase, content validity was examined. Nine experts evaluated the consistency between the fraud experiences and the developed indicators. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was applied, with the quality passing criterion set at ≥ 0.78.

The research results found: 1) five main types of fraud experienced by older adults: (1) call center scams, (2) romance hybrid scams, (3) fake online investment platforms, (4) online shopping scams, and (5) repeated victimization and reference-based scams. Scammers exploited emotional vulnerabilities, trust, and lack of digital literacy among the elderly. The nature of interaction varies depending on each victim’s context, with consequences including financial loss and emotional distress; and 2) Regarding the development of indicators, a total of 24 indicators were created. The item-level CVI ranged from 0.89 to 1.00, while the scale-level CVI was 0.98—both exceeding the acceptable threshold. Therefore, the developed indicators can accurately measure older adults’ digital social risks.