Securing online privacy: An empirical test on Internet scam victimization, online privacy concerns, and privacy protection behaviors

The current study identified the antecedents of being an Internet scam victim and how it impacts online privacy concerns and privacy protection behaviors. Structural equation modeling on data from a survey of 11,534 Internet users revealed that one indicator of weak self-control (i.e., willingness of risky investments) and two indicators of routine Internet activities (i.e., online shopping and opening emails from unknown sources) positively predicted being an Internet scam victim. Subsequently, being an Internet scam victim predicted increased online privacy concerns, which, in turn, predicted elevated privacy protection behaviors. Moreover, we found that being an Internet scam victim mediated the effects of routine Internet activities on privacy protection behaviors and that online privacy concerns mediated the effect of being an Internet scam on privacy protection behaviors. Unlike most Internet privacy studies using protection motivation theory only, the current study contributes to the understanding of the Internet scam victimization by incorporating three new theories-extended parallel process model, self-control theory, and routine activity theory. The research findings provided valuable implications for theory and practice related to Internet scam processes and prevention.