Investigating the relationship between consumers' style of thinking and online victimization in scamming

Unsolicited emails and online scams can erode both consumer confidence and consumer safety when interacting and transacting over the Internet. This paper uses content analysis to identify the most frequent psychological tricks used in scamming and the most frequent flags which alert consumers to the illegitimate and unsolicited nature of the contact. Findings are then explored in light of individual thinking styles to reveal how some consumers may be more vulnerable to online scams as a result of their own personal preference for thinking in a particular way. The rationale is to establish a foundation for the use of content analysis of unsolicited emails to offer insight into the possible relationship between a consumer’s style of thinking and online victimization.