People tend to disclose personal identifiable information (PII) that could be used by cybercriminals against them. Often, persuasion techniques are used by cybercriminals to trick people to disclose PII. This research investigates whether people can be made less susceptible to persuasion by reciprocation (i.e., making people feel obligated to return a favour) and authority, particularly in regard to whether information security knowledge and positive affect moderate the relation between susceptibility to persuasion and disclosing PII. Data are used from a population-based survey experiment that measured the actual disclosure of PII in an experimental setting (N = 2426). The results demonstrate a persuasion–disclosure link, indicating that people disclose more PII when persuaded by reciprocation, but not by authority. Knowledge of information security was also found to relate to disclosure. People disclosed less PII when they possessed more knowledge of information security. Positive affect was not related to the disclosure of PII. And contrary to expectations, no moderating effects were found of information security knowledge nor positive affect on the persuasion–disclosure link. Possible explanations are discussed, as well as limitations and future research directions. Uitgegeven door Sage, APA beschrijving: van der Kleij, R., van ‘t Hoff—De Goede, S., van de Weijer, S., & Leukfeldt, R. (2023). Social engineering and the disclosure of personal identifiable information: Examining the relationship and moderating factors using a population-based survey experiment. Journal of Criminology, 56(2-3), 278-293. https://doi.org/10.1177/26338076231162660
In order to design effective Persuasive Technology (PT) interventions, it is essential that designers understand the multitude of factors that lead to behavioral change, rather than guessing at a solution or imitating successful techniques without understanding why. The few available PT design frameworks solely distinguish behavioral determinants on an individual (micro) level (e.g., motivation), whereas successfully persuading a user is a multifaceted and complex task depending also on factors on a meso (e.g., available resources) and macro (e.g., social support and praise) level. We developed an analysis grid that enables PT designers to acknowledge the multifaceted character of determinants leading to behavioral change and select appropriate PT channels and strategies, preventing the failure of PT design. This analysis grid was validated in a case study in which we designed a PT intervention aimed at reporting minor crime incidents among citizens.
It has been established that normative social influence can be used effec-tively in persuasive technology. However, it is unknown whether the application of more social pressure makes it more effective. To test this hypothesis, a quantitative experiment was conducted on the online social network Facebook. Although evidence to support the hypothesis was found, it cannot be concluded from this experiment that more intense persuasion is more effective, when utilizing normative social influence in persuasive technology.
