Understanding the Impact of Risk Perception, Competence, and Knowledge on Trust and Social Engineering Susceptibility in Mobile Banking

This quantitative study explores the factors influencing the susceptibility of Indonesian mobile banking users to social engineering attacks. Data were obtained from 521 respondents, primarily consisting of Generation Z users, during May 2025 and analyzed using the SmartPLS method. The findings highlight that risk perception plays a pivotal role in shaping users' competence, trust, and ultimately, their vulnerability to social engineering. Furthermore, knowledge of threats was found to be a significant determinant in shaping online security management behaviors. Interestingly, the study revealed that while users may exhibit strong security management practices and technical competence, these factors did not significantly reduce their susceptibility to social engineering attacks. This outcome suggests that psychological and perceptual variables may play a more dominant role than behavioral or technical factors. One possible explanation for the limited significance of competence and management practices lies in the restricted geographic scope of the sample, which may not fully represent the diverse characteristics of the wider population. Nevertheless, the demographic composition of the sample aligns with the study’s focus on young digital-native users. Future research is encouraged to examine broader industry sectors and adopt larger, more diverse samples to enhance generalizability and strengthen strategies for mitigating social engineering threats in an increasingly digital society.本定量研究旨在探究影响印度尼西亚移动银行用户易受社会工程攻击（Social Engineering Attacks）影响程度的相关因素。本研究于2025年5月面向521名受访者收集数据，受访者主体为Z世代（Generation Z）用户，随后采用SmartPLS方法对数据进行分析。研究结果显示，风险感知在塑造用户安全能力、信任水平，并最终影响其社会工程攻击易感性的过程中发挥着核心作用。此外，对威胁的认知是塑造用户线上安全管理行为的重要决定性因素。值得注意的是，本研究发现，即便用户具备较为完善的安全管理实践与较强的技术能力，上述因素并未显著降低其遭受社会工程攻击的易感性。这一结果表明，相较于行为或技术因素，心理与感知类变量对用户易受攻击性的影响更为突出。针对能力与管理实践影响有限这一现象，一种可能的解释是：本次研究的样本地理覆盖范围较窄，未能充分体现更广泛人群的多元特征。尽管如此，样本的人口统计学构成与本研究聚焦年轻数字原生代用户的研究定位相契合。未来研究可拓展至更广泛的行业领域，并采用规模更大、多样性更强的样本，以提升研究的可推广性，同时为日益数字化的社会中缓解社会工程攻击威胁提供更完善的应对策略。