Fear of cybercrime: chalenges and perceptions (a field study among students)

Abstract

The present study examines how direct and indirect cyber victimization impacts fear of cybercrime. The statistical population of this study consists of a number of students in University of Tehran, with a sample of 350 students selected through simple random sampling carried out from September 1 to December 2, 2018. Our findings indicated a high rate of direct victimization in financial crimes for men as well as direct victimization in sexual offenses, nuisance, and threats of committing financial offenses for women. Furthermore, indirect victimization of women as a result of sexual offenses was significantly greater than men. A high level of fear of sex crimes in cyberspace was observed among women. Although men and women differ in terms of the type as well as the rate of victimization, the users rarely adopt preventive measures in the cyberspace.