Vol.:(0123456789) Crime Prevention and Community Safety https://doi.org/10.1057/s41300-020-00098-3 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Examining the infuence of emotional arousal and scam preventive messaging on susceptibility to scams Hui Ying Lu 1  · Stephanie Chan 1  · Whistine Chai 1  · Shi Mian Lau 1  · Majeed Khader 1 © Springer Nature Limited 2020 Abstract With the increase in scams globally and the elusive methods of perpetrators, law enforcement agencies have turned to public education and awareness programs to decrease the number of scam victims. This has also raised a need to look into the psychology of scams and how they can be prevented. Emotional arousal has been shown to hinder cognitive decision-making processes in scam victims, subsequently infuencing them to fall prey to scams. Despite this, messages used in scam preven- tion campaigns have been framed in ways that appeal to rational cognitive processes. This exploratory study examined two research questions: do (a) the type of messag- ing used in scam prevention posters (cognitive-focused poster vs. emotion-normal- ising poster) and (b) emotional arousal (positive arousal vs. negative arousal vs. no arousal) infuence one’s susceptibility to scams? Susceptibility to scams was meas- ured through participants’ intention to purchase items during a fake e-commerce scam scenario. Emotional arousal was measured with a combination of heart rate variability (HRV) data obtained through wearable heart rate trackers, and self-report scales. Results of the study showed that participants who viewed emotion-normal- ising posters demonstrated a lower susceptibility to scams compared to those who viewed the cognitive-focused poster. However, emotional arousal was not found to have any infuence on one’s susceptibility to scams. These fndings serve to inform crime prevention campaigns by law enforcement. Findings from this exploratory study can also encourage further research into the scam prevention research. Keywords Scams · Scam prevention · Crime prevention · Messaging * Hui Ying Lu 1 Home Team Behavioural Sciences Centre, 501 Old Choa Chu Kang Rd, Singapore 698928, Singapore