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Habitual Facebook users: Suckers for social media scams?

Date:
September 15, 2014
Source:
Wiley
Summary:
A new study finds that habitual use of Facebook makes individuals susceptible to social media phishing attacks by criminals, likely because they automatically respond to requests without considering how they are connected with those sending the requests, how long they have known them, or who else is connected with them.
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A new study finds that habitual use of Facebook makes individuals susceptible to social media phishing attacks by criminals, likely because they automatically respond to requests without considering how they are connected with those sending the requests, how long they have known them, or who else is connected with them.

Predictors of habitual use of Facebook include frequent interactions with the platform, a large number of friend connections, and individuals' inability to regulate their social media consumption.

"Social media phishing is the attack vector of choice among cyber criminals and has been implicated in crimes ranging from home invasion to cyber bullying, illegal impersonation of individuals and organization, and espionage," said Dr. Arun Vishwanath, author of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication study.

"These scams attempt to trick people into accepting friend requests and gathering intel from them. Hence, understanding why individuals fall victim to social media phishing scams is important from an organizational security, law enforcement, and a national security standpoint."


Story Source:

Materials provided by Wiley. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Arun Vishwanath. Habitual Facebook Use and its Impact on Getting Deceived on Social Media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2014; DOI: 10.1111/jcc4.12100

Cite This Page:

Wiley. "Habitual Facebook users: Suckers for social media scams?." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 September 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140915120841.htm>.
Wiley. (2014, September 15). Habitual Facebook users: Suckers for social media scams?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140915120841.htm
Wiley. "Habitual Facebook users: Suckers for social media scams?." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140915120841.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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