Factors Influencing Players’ Susceptibility to Social Engineering in Social Gaming Networks

Social gaming networks have become a new phenomenon, especially for young people, who may become addicted to some extent. However, this phenomenon also increases their susceptibility to hacking, cyber-attack, and other types of security breaches. Various studies have found that current technology is inadequate in terms of online security. Thus, researchers have started to pay attention to the human aspect of security, which is based on interactions with strangers who may trick other gamers into revealing personal or financial information, that is, social engineering. There is little in the social gaming network literature to help players, researchers, and organizations to address the human aspect of online security, and thus there is a need to investigate the factors affecting this aspect of security. The current study aims to identify the factors influencing social engineering victimization in social gaming networks. The model developed in this study is based on the health belief model and cooperation and competition theory. The results show that the perceived severity of the threat, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, competition, and cooperation are significant factors in the prediction of social engineering victimization.