Language as Lure: A Naturalistic Study on Pasifika Phishing Susceptibility

Online scams targeting Pasifika people are on the rise, posing a challenge for security. To investigate how language affects phishing susceptibility, we partnered with the IT department of the national government of a Melanesian country to conduct an ecologically valid phishing simulation study with the government's employees. Each month for four months, 2,000 participants received a simulated phishing email written in either English or the local language of their country; all participants were competent in both languages. We recorded whether participants opened the email and whether they clicked the link within it. When emails included personal requests for assistance, those in the local language elicited more clicks than those in English. These findings may be due to the influence of emotion on reasoning when thinking in a foreign language, a cultural emphasis on helping in Melanesian societies, and in-group preferences. We discuss the implications for how language and culture can impact vulnerability with special attention to low-resource languages which are likely to have less effective mail filters.