"Not naive, just gullible: psycho-cognitive vulnerability and fraud victimization in Italy"

Fraud represents a growing and complex threat in contemporary societies, with consequences that extend beyond economic losses. Despite increasing international evidence, limited research has examined the psychological and cognitive factors associated with fraud victimization in the Italian context, particularly in relation to online scams. This study examines individual differences and fraud experiences among 600 Italian adults through an online survey assessing sociodemographic characteristics, fraud experiences, personality traits, gullibility, financial literacy, and financial self-efficacy. Results revealed that more than half of the sample (n = 416) reported exposure to scam attempts, most of which occurred through remote channels (either exclusively online or in combination with offline channels). A smaller subset (n = 115) reported actual fraud victimization. A binomial logistic regression was conducted to identify individual factors associated with fraud victimization among exposed individuals. Gullibility emerged as the only statistically significant predictor, indicating that higher gullibility was associated with a greater likelihood of victimization, whereas sociodemographic characteristics, personality traits, financial literacy, and financial self-efficacy were not significantly associated with victimization. These findings highlight that fraud prevention strategies may benefit from considering psycho-cognitive vulnerability factors alongside traditional financial and digital literacy initiatives.