Examining the distinct antecedents of E-mail habits and its influence on the outcomes of a phishing attack

While research has linked social media phishing susceptibility to individual Facebook habits,the underlying process by which habits lead to victimization and the extent to which it explainse-mail-based phishing remains unclear. The study compared the antecedents and consequences ofe-mail habits and cognitive processing on the outcome of a simulated phishing attack. E-mail habitswere rooted in stable personality dimensions of conscientiousness and emotional stability, whilecognitive processing was premised on contextual information adequacy considerations. Interestingly,habits and processing jointly influenced the outcomeof the attack: Systematic processing attenuatedphishing susceptibility by a small factor; the cumulative effects of heuristic processing and e-mailhabits, however, caused a fourfold increase in likely victimization, overwhelming any advantagefrom detailed processing.