Predictors of Cyberscam Vulnerability for People With and Without Acquired Brain Injury: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

Cyberscams present a global threat with serious financial and psychological impacts. People with acquired brain injury (ABI) have been identified as particularly vulnerable to cyberscams due to injury-related cognitive and psychosocial challenges and require targeted vulnerability assessment tools and prevention strategies. Longitudinal research is needed to identify predictive factors to inform prevention efforts. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive validity of a cyberscam measure and identify biopsychosocial factors related to subsequent cyberscam victimization. Using a longitudinal design, 197 participants (97 with ABI; 100 without) completed an online survey at baseline (T1) and again after 1 year (T2). Measures assessed cybersafety (The CyberAbility Scale), community integration, loneliness, trust, impulsivity, and mood. Logistic and multiple regressions were conducted between risk factor variables and outcomes of self-reported scam experience and scores on The CyberAbility Scale. Higher loneliness, lower mood, and being impulsive increased the chances of experiencing a future cyberscam, with loneliness the strongest predictor. Multiple binomial regression showed that older age, being female, and being more impulsive at T1 contributed to increased likelihood of a scam experience at T2. Modifiable psychosocial factors of loneliness and mood and vulnerable demographic groups have been identified and require targeted cyberscam prevention strategies. Findings support The CyberAbility Scale as a useful tool to screen clients who may be vulnerable to future cyberscam victimization. Future research should expand these findings in other disability, cultural, or linguistic cohorts and explore broader cyberscam risk factors.