RT Article
T1 Who Responded to Equifax? Self-Protection Strategies When Guardians Fail
JF Victims & offenders
VO 16
IS 8
SP 1149
OP 1160
A1 Dearden, Thomas
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1774532042
AB Routine activity theory suggests that crime occurs when a motivated offender meets a suitable target and no capable guardian is present. In identity theft that occurs online, potential victims can sometimes act as their own guardians. Self-protection strategies, such as identity theft monitoring software, can be implemented by potential victims to act as guardians against identity theft. Little is known about the situations when a suitable target becomes their own guardian. This article seeks to understand this situation by looking at self-protection behaviors after the Equifax breach of 2017. Using data from a North Carolina Poll Survey, we examine self-protection measures implemented following this potential victimization. When do individuals enact their own self-guardian behaviors? We find that measures of computer use do not predict whether an individual will enact self-protection measures following the Equifax breach. Rather, we find that negative emotions around identity theft lead individuals to enact self-protection measures.
K1 Victimization
K1 Fraud
K1 Routine Activities Theory
K1 Technology
DO 10.1080/15564886.2021.1876801