Routine Activities Theory – A Gateway to Vulnerability for Everyone

Understanding Routine Activities Theory: Its Impact on Vulnerability and Scam Victims, and Why Digital Guardians Can Help Protect You from Scams

Primary Category: Psychology of Scams

Intended Audience: Scam Victims-Survivors / Family & Friends / General Public / Others

Author:
•  Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

About This Article

Routine Activities Theory shows that scams do not happen randomly. They occur when a motivated scammer finds a suitable target without enough protection around them. Your daily habits, your online activities, and the level of support you have all play a role in how vulnerable you are. This does not mean being scammed is your fault. It means that understanding the risks gives you the power to change them.

By strengthening digital and real-world guardianship — through stronger security, trusted support networks, and safer routines — you make it much harder for scammers to succeed. Families, especially those with older loved ones, can play a crucial role by staying connected, offering help without judgment, and building a shared safety net. Creating a safer online life is not about living in fear. It is about living with wisdom, awareness, and confidence. Every step you take to protect yourself and those you care about is an act of strength, resilience, and hope for a safer future.

Understanding Routine Activities Theory: Its Impact on Vulnerability and Scam Victims, and Why Digital Guardians Can Help Protect You from Scams

What Is Routine Activities Theory?

You may wonder why some people fall victim to scams while others seem to avoid them. While it can seem random or based on personal strength, there is a deeper explanation. Routine Activities Theory, developed by researchers Cohen and Felson in 1979, gives us a very helpful way to understand why victimization happens — and more importantly, how to prevent it.

Routine Activities Theory says that for a crime to happen, three things must come together:

1. A motivated offender — someone willing to commit the crime.

2. A suitable target — someone who can be attacked or exploited.

3. The absence of a capable guardian — no one or nothing stopping the crime.

All three of these must be present at the same time and place for a scam or crime to succeed. If even one is missing, the scam is much less likely to happen.

A key point to understand is that motivated offenders — scammers — are everywhere. There are millions of them online, always looking for opportunities. You cannot eliminate them. Instead, Routine Activities Theory teaches you that you can control the other two parts: you can make yourself a harder target, and you can make sure you have guardians to protect you.

How Your Daily Routines Make You Vulnerable

In the past, this theory explained crimes like burglary or street robbery. Today, it applies perfectly to online scams.

The truth is, your daily activities — what you do online, how you use technology, and how you interact with others — create risks you will not even notice. Every time you browse the internet, check email, use social media, or make online payments, you are visible. Your digital life, like your real-life routine, can either make you an easy target or a hard one.

Simple things, like sharing too much personal information online, using weak passwords, or responding to unknown messages, vastly increase your exposure. Scammers love easy targets. They are experts at watching for people who seem isolated, lonely, curious, hopeful, or hurried — all normal human experiences.

This does not mean you should blame yourself. It means awareness is power. Just as you would lock your front door to deter a burglar, you can make smart choices online to protect yourself.

Why Guardianship Matters More Than Ever

In Routine Activities Theory, a “guardian” is anything that prevents a crime from happening. In the real world, a guardian could be a police officer, a neighbor, a friend, or even a barking dog.

In cyberspace, your guardians are different. They can include:

• Strong privacy settings on your accounts.

• Antivirus and firewall software.

• Education about scam tactics.

• Trusted people in your life who help you spot dangers.

• Systems that monitor for strange financial activities.

When you have capable guardians — both technical and human — you dramatically lower your chances of being scammed. Without them, even smart, capable people can become victims.

One of the biggest dangers is that many people assume they do not need help. Isolation becomes normal. Pride keeps them from asking questions. Shame makes them hide mistakes. That is exactly what scammers hope for.

Guardianship is not about weakness. It is about choosing to surround yourself with protection, just as you would wear a seatbelt in a car. Smart people use smart protection.

The Special Risk for Older Adults and Vulnerable People

Research shows that scammers often target older adults, partly because they may have savings and partly because they can be more isolated. Also, online scams are designed to be confusing, emotionally manipulative, and pressure-filled — things that are difficult for anyone, but especially for someone under stress.

Routine Activities Theory teaches that the routines of older adults — such as being home alone, being online for company, or dealing with unfamiliar technology — can make them easier targets. That is not because of weakness, but because of exposure.

For this reason, social guardians are critical. Family members, friends, trusted advocates, and trained support groups can act as guardians. Their involvement can spot red flags early, offer support without judgment, and stop scams before they succeed.

If you have an older loved one who uses the internet, talking openly about scams, setting up shared financial alerts, and offering regular support can make a huge difference. It is not about control. It is about safety.

Why Digital Guardians Are Now Essential

The internet is no longer just a tool. It is part of daily life. Banking, communication, shopping, education, and entertainment all happen online. That means digital risks are everywhere, every day.

Digital guardianship needs to be seen as normal, not optional. This includes:

• Using real-time fraud alerts from your bank.

• Setting up family access to help monitor suspicious activity.

• Keeping security software updated.

• Educating yourself continuously about new scam methods.

• Creating a trusted circle to talk about financial or online decisions.

• Building emotional resilience so you can recognize emotional manipulation.

Just like locking your doors and checking your smoke detectors are basic safety steps, creating digital guardianship should be seen as a basic part of living in the modern world.

For scam victims in recovery, rebuilding guardianship is a key part of restoring confidence. After the trauma of betrayal, many survivors feel overwhelmed by fear, self-doubt, and guilt. Setting up protective systems gives back a sense of control and security that was stolen by the scam.

What Victims and Families Can Do Today

Here are steps you can take right now:

• Acknowledge vulnerability without shame. Everyone is vulnerable online, no matter their age, education, or intelligence.

• Create real-world and digital guardians. Surround yourself with people and systems that can help spot dangers.

• Keep routines safer. Limit the personal information you share publicly. Verify contacts. Double-check financial decisions.

• Stay connected. Isolation is the scammer’s playground. Regular, honest conversations with trusted people are one of the strongest protections you can have.

• Accept help as strength. Getting help, advice, and monitoring from trusted sources is a sign of strength, not weakness.

You cannot control the existence of scammers. You can control how easy or hard you make their job.

Closing Thoughts: Empowerment Through Awareness

Understanding Routine Activities Theory helps you see that victimization is not random, and it is not your fault. It happens when certain conditions align. But by changing those conditions — by reducing target vulnerability and increasing guardianship — you reclaim your power.

If you have been scammed, it was not because you were foolish. It was because someone deliberately exploited openings in routines and relationships. Healing includes learning to close those openings without closing your heart.

Building guardianship into your daily digital life is not just about defense. It is about living with strength, wisdom, and confidence. It is about remembering that your trust, your dreams, and your dignity deserve active protection every day.

You are not powerless. You are not alone. And you are not destined to be anyone’s victim again. When you strengthen your guardianship — inside and around you — you protect your future.

Reference

Theoretical framework: routine activities theory

Routine activities theory (RAT; Cohen and Felson, 1979) suggests that an individual’s daily activities contribute to victimization. Cohen and Felson (1979) posit that an individual’s social roles and social class influence their lifestyle, including risky activities resulting from individual rational choice. They suggest that a crime will likely occur if (1) a suitable target, (2) a motivated offender, and (3) the absence of a capable guardian spatio-temporarily converge. All three must come together in order for criminal activity to be realized. However, according to Cohen and Felson (1979), the motivated offender is everywhere, awaiting the opportunity to engage in criminal activity.

Thus, research should concentrate on the victims’ routines instead. RAT has been initially developed to study victimization of predatory and property crimes (Cohen and Felson, 1979; Felson, 1986; Miethe et al., 1987; Massey et al., 1989; Sherman et al., 1989; Kennedy and Forde, 1990; Roncek and Maier, 1991), Newman and Clarke (2003) applied the model to cyberspace. They argued that online presence alone could make people suitable targets since they publish personal information as valuable assets online. Subsequent research found evidence for RAT in computer-crime (Kowalski, 2002; Moitra, 2005; Choi, 2008) and internet-crime victimization (Choi and Lee, 2017; for a summary see Leukfeldt and Yar, 2016). These studies posit that cyberspace provides ideal opportunities to commit crimes, as targets are digitally connected with multiple devices, working, studying, networking, and gaming online. Thus, all who are digitally
connected suitable targets of online crimes. In the integrated cyber-RAT Choi (2008) asserts that motivated cybercriminals can easily find suitable targets in the form of online users who engage in online activities without applying adequate computer security measures or sharing their data on social networks (Yar, 2005).
Computer security measures such as anti-virus software, web camera cover, or credit card monitoring function as capable (technical) guardians, and absence of them increases offending opportunities (Leukfeldt and Yar, 2016; Hawdon et al., 2020). At the same time, the level computer familiarity and computer skills can affect target suitability (Bossler and Holt, 2009). For instance, Choi (2008) tested target suitability studying risky online routine activities such as user
willingness to visit unknown websites, downloading free MP3 files or free software programs, and clicking on icons without precaution on a sample of college students (n = 204). The study measured digital capable guardianship through the application of antivirus programs, antispyware, and firewall programs. Online lifestyle variables, such as online vocational and leisure activities, online risky leisure activities, and online risky vocational activities, have been used to measure  the suitable target component. Choi (2008) concludes that online lifestyle activities contribute to the potential for computer crime victimization.

The current study proposes an extension of the measures of capable guardianship and target suitability to measure RAT applicability in financial fraud.  Specifically, we propose that the presence of social (capable) guardians, such as relatives, can provide protection against financial fraud/scams targeting older individuals.

We also suggest that victims’ sociodemographic characteristics – such as education level, employment status, and asking for help after the initial fraud victimization – also influence target suitability. By including these new measures in the analysis, we suggest extending the list of measures in capable guardianship and suitable target, therefore, updating RAT measures to study financial scam victimization. In addition, we propose age-dependent characteristics
of these measures presuming they work differently for older and younger age groups. In the following, we review scientific literature in RAT and older individuals’ financial fraud victimization. Then, we describe the sample and methods applied in the current study, present the results, and discuss the findings of the current study considering the literature. The paper concludes with policy and future research recommendations.

Link to above: (PDF) What is a capable guardian to older fraud victims? Comparison of younger and older victims’ characteristics of online fraud utilizing routine activity theory

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