Cyber Crime and Emerging Technologies: Contemporary Issues and Global Perspectives (ISBN : 978-93-49468-02-3)

Cybercrime and Cyber Psychology: Understanding Human Behavior, Psychological Vulnerabilities, and Mental Health in Digital Era

Author: Priyanka Singh & Dr. Fariza Saidin

Digital technology is changing the way people communicate, connect, get information, manage money, do their jobs, learn, and engage in society. Meanwhile, the digital world has opened the door to new fraud, harassment, exploitation, identity deception, cyberbullying, stalking, manipulation, and other forms of cybercrime. While there are several ways to think about cybercrime, the effectiveness and impact of cybercrime are tied to human psychology. Offences facilitated by the use of technology systems also often involve exploiting vulnerabilities in trust, attention, fear, authority, urgency, social influence, emotional attachment, and decision making. A key framework to consider the human side of digital life is Cyber-psychology. It explores the ways in which the psychological processes of humans and digital technologies interrelate with respect to online identity, communication, relationships, social behavior, digital engagement, and psychological wellbeing. Therefore, social engineering, phishing, online relationship fraud, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, digital relationship abuse, and new varieties of artificial-intelligence deception can be viewed from a technological and psychological viewpoint. Digital engagement can impact interpersonal experiences, but it does not necessarily mean that it is a mental disorder in the case of phubbing, fear of missing out (FoMO), loneliness, and social connectedness. This chapter explores cybercrime from a psychological perspective, as well as social engineering, psychological manipulation, fear and decision making, phubbing and FoMO, isolation and social connectedness, cyber bullying and cyber stalking, digital relationship abuse, cyber victimization, deep fakes problematic digital behavior and the new role of psychologists in cybercrime prevention and psychological intervention.

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