Online Routines and Identity Theft Victimization

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to extend recent work aimed at applying routine activity theory to crimes in which the victim and offender never come into physical proximity. To that end, relationships between individuals' online routines and identity theft victimization were examined. Method: Data from a subsample of 5,985 respondents from the 2008 to 2009 British Crime Survey were analyzed. Utilizing binary logistic regression, the relationships between individuals' online routine activities (e.g., banking, shopping, downloading), individual characteristics (e.g., gender, age, employment), and perceived risk of victimization on identity theft victimization were assessed. Results: The results suggest that individuals who use the Internet for banking and/or e-mailing/instant messaging are about 50 percent more likely to be victims of identity theft than others. Similarly, online shopping and downloading behaviors increased victimization risk by about 30 percent. Males, older persons, and those with higher incomes were also more likely to experience victimization, as were those who perceived themselves to be at greater risk of victimization. Conclusions: Although the routine activity approach was originally written to account for direct-contact offenses, it appears that the perspective also has utility in explaining crimes at a distance. Further research should continue to explore the online and offline routines that increase individuals' risks of identity theft victimization.

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