Project information
Project manager
Clary Krekula
Other project members
Michaela Ericsson
Participating organisations
The project is a collaboration between Linnaeus University and Campus Västervik
Financier
Crafoord Foundation
Timetable
2025-01-01–2026-12-31
Subject
Social Work (Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences)
Research group
Social work, disability and ageing (SODA)
More about the project
The number of reported digital fraud against older people has increased over time. This increase includes so-called phishing, where scammers deceive individuals into providing sensitive information, such as BankID and passwords, over the phone.
This project is based on three central knowledge gaps in the limited research on digital fraud against older people. The first gap is the lack of understanding of how older victims themselves describe the fraud, what their age means in this context, and the consequences thereof for aging. A second knowledge gap concerns the fact that much of the existing knowledge is based on homogeneous representations of older persons. Therefore, knowledge about how the consequences of fraud vary by gender, socio-economic position, or whether one lives in a city or rural area is limited. A third knowledge gap relates to the consequences of being subjected to digital fraud as an older person.
While previous research has shown that being targeted by digital fraud may lead to poorer health, there is a lack of knowledge about how it affects the victims' trust in and need for social relationships of various kinds, which are central aspects of individual well-being.
Furthermore, it is assumed that fear of being scammed online contributes to older people refraining from using digital tools. This affects their ability to maintain contact with relatives, complicates communication with authorities and care providers, and worsens their ability to be socially engaged in a broader sense.
Against this background, this project aims, based on qualitative interviews with individuals aged 65 and older who have been victims of digital fraud, and from an intersectional perspective, to show the consequences for the affected older person´s finances, social relationships, and social participation.
The project is part of the research within the research group Social Work, Disability, and Aging (SODA).
