Exploring how, why and in what contexts older adults are at risk of financial cyber crime victimisation: A realist review

Although older people rarely report being victims of financial cybercrime, there is evidence that older online users are at increased risk. This realist review identified factors leading to older adults’ victimisation and reviewed the theory and evidence for interventions to reduce victimisation risks. We developed an initial programme theory from a scoping review and expert stakeholder consultations. We searched electronic databases, references and websites for literature meeting inclusion criteria. We analysed 52 primary and secondary data sources, seeking stakeholder views to develop and refine the programme theory and generate Context-Mechanism-Outcome Configurations (CMOCs) explaining how, why and in what circumstances older adults become financial cybercrime victims; and extrapolated this to consider rational intervention strategies.