Connected and fearful? Exploring fear of online financial crime, Internet behaviour and their relationship
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| Author | Johan van Wilsem,Jelle Brands |
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370819839619 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819839619
European Journal of Criminology
2021, Vol. 18(2) 213 –234
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370819839619
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Connected and fearful?
Exploring fear of online
financial crime, Internet
behaviour and their
relationship
Jelle Brands
Leiden University, The Netherlands
Johan van Wilsem
Netherlands Court of Audit, The Netherlands
Abstract
Although it is generally acknowledged that the development of the Internet created new criminal
opportunities, the ways this is experienced by the general population has received limited
attention. The current study seeks to explore the degrees to which people report fear of online
crime, its correlates, and how online fear is related to protective and avoidance behaviour.
We focus on online financial crimes. Results based on a large, representative, survey indicate
an intermediate level of fear of online crime among the general Dutch population. Various
sociodemographic characteristics and victimization experiences are shown to predict fear of
online financial crime. We also find online fear to be a strong predictor of avoidance behaviour,
given negative relationships with online purchasing and banking, thereby impeding individuals’
perceived online freedom and opportunities. Finally, the results found no indications that fear may
stimulate protective behaviour of one’s computer.
Keywords
Avoidance behaviour, fear of cybercrime, fear of online crime, online financial crime, protective
behaviour
Corresponding author:
Jelle Brands, Department of Criminology, Leiden University, Steenschuur 25, Leiden, 2311 ES, The
Netherlands.
Email: j.brands@law.leidenuniv.nl
839619EUC0010.1177/1477370819839619European Journal of CriminologyBrands and van Wilsem
research-article2019
Article
214 European Journal of Criminology 18(2)
Introduction
The advance of the Internet has greatly influenced the way we go about our everyday
lives: it has transformed the ways we do ‘business, work, consumption, leisure and poli-
tics’ (Yar, 2013: 4). Many such developments can be placed in a positive sphere, aug-
menting the agency of individuals and expanding their freedoms and liberties (Yar,
2009), or in terms of potential drivers for economic growth (Virtanen, 2017). Yet, more
pessimistic views about the advance of the Internet have also found a foothold in society.
Of particular interest here, the ‘Internet brings with it new threats and dangers to our
well-being and security’ (Yar, 2013: 4).1 Alongside this development, a fruitful field of
studies has emerged in criminology looking into the identification and quantification of
these ‘new threats and dangers’ brought about by the Internet, their dimensions, as well
as online offenders (Brenner, 2014; Holt and Bossler, 2014). In addition, the victimology
literature has drawn attention to online victimization and victims (Holt and Bossler,
2008; Leukfeldt, 2015; Ngo and Paternoster, 2011; Reyns, 2015; Van Wilsem, 2011,
2013). But less headway has been made in studying how these ‘new threats and dangers’
are experienced by the general population (Henson and Reyns, 2015; Jansen et al., 2017).
It is noteworthy that only a limited number of empirical studies are available on the
ways in which online threats and dangers are experienced by the general public. After all,
the subjective dimensions of victimization – especially in terms of fear of criminal vic-
timization – have received substantial attention in the criminological literature more gen-
erally (see, for instance, Farrall et al., 2012; Hale, 1996; Henson and Reyns, 2015; Lee
and Mythen, 2018; Spithoven, 2017). Indeed, outlining the evolution of the fear of crime
literature, Henson and Reyns (2015: 94) argue that ‘[t]o date, only a handful of studies
have focused on fear of online victimization. As online victimization has become an
emerging area of research, more research into fear of online victimization is warranted.’
To be sure, however, there are a growing number of studies preoccupied with fear of
online crime (see below). Reviewing the available studies, a number of limitations are
nonetheless apparent. First, the research base on the topic seems fairly fragmented. One
reason for this is that the ‘object’ of fear differs substantially between studies, from fairly
specific worries about a particular online crime to measures merging a variety of online
crimes into a general ‘fear of crime’ variable. Another is that studies use inconsistent
measures of fear. As Hinkle (2015: 148) points out, our understanding of fear of crime is
muddied when researchers confuse other constructs with fear of crime and/or when ‘con-
cepts are erroneously labelled “fear of crime”’. Also, individual studies tend to single out
specific (key) predictors to explain fear of online crime. One result is that it is not suffi-
ciently clear if/how such predictors are related to fear of particular types of online crime.
Second, studies drawing on a larger and representative sample of the general population
are scarce (but see Reisig et al., 2009; Roberts et al., 2013), especially for the European
context (but see European Commission, 2017; Virtanen, 2017). Third, although it is well
documented in the literature that fear of crime can and does affect behaviour (Doran and
Burgess, 2012; Lorenc et al., 2012; Liska et al., 1988; Rader, 2004; Rader et al., 2007;
Warr, 2000), these links have received scant attention in studies focusing on online con-
texts. It is nonetheless important to better understand behavioural responses as a result of
fear of crime, because these may have unwelcome effects at the personal level (unequal
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