The aftermath of online fraud: obstacles faced by victims in initiating civil law proceedings

Abstract

Victims of online fraud may seek to recover damages through civil law. However, only a small percentage of the population that experienced victimisation was able to seek justice through civil law. This research aims to determine what obstacles victims take into consideration when deciding to initiate civil law proceedings to recover damages and whether age plays a role in the decision-making process. For all victims of fraud, with or without prior knowledge, it was found that, in general, perceiving obstacles influences the decision to initiate civil law proceedings. Individuals who perceive obstacles have a lesser likelihood of initiating civil law proceedings than those who do not see obstacles. However, the specific obstacles associated with civil law proceedings reveal more complex findings. For all victims, the following obstacles are significantly associated with initiating civil law proceedings: the height of financial damage, lack of sufficient evidence, the complexity of the legal process, lack of knowledge of the procedure, the expected chance of success, and fear of reprisals. Here, differences are observed between individuals with and without prior knowledge of civil law proceedings. For the moderation with age for all victims and those without prior knowledge, it was found that age moderates for two obstacles. For all victims, these were fears of reprisals and the complexity of the legal process, and for victims without prior knowledge, these are the height of financial damage and complexity of the legal process. Furthermore, for victims with prior knowledge, no moderation was found.