Although cybercrimes in India have been a major concern for the persons of all ages, there is a surge of financial cybercrime against elderly resulting in huge financial loss and declined mental health. More often cybercriminals have appeared themselves as government authorities and have digitally arrested (forcing the victim to be constantly on a videocall with a cybercriminal) elderly persons for durations ranging from few hours to many days. However, most of these cases are not reported to police and law enforcing authorities. The trauma of crime, financial loss and the associated stigma and guilt often results in mild to severe mental health consequences among these elderly persons.
This study, therefore, was conducted to understand the risk factor and consequences of financial cybercrime and to explore the use of coping strategies by older adults. A sample of 28 older adults (9 older adults who had been the victims of cybercrime and 19 friend or close associate of such victims) participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to record their experiences related to cybercrime. The results of the thematic analysis of the interviews reveals that factors such as cognitive decline, limited understanding/skills about cybersecurity measures, elevated fear about being the victim of fraud, social isolation, lack of the availability of immediate support, wealth and insider fraud are some of the salient risk factors while loss of money, guilt, social isolation, decline in physical and psychological and physical health were the major consequences of such experiences. Participants reported passive strategies such as attribution to fate, God will and karma as means of coping while few participants also reported using legal means and strengthening their knowledge about cybersecurity as coping measures. These results are important as they warrant for the initiatives to benefit older age groups mitigate risks of financial cybercrime.