Social Science PhD Opportunity on Understanding vulnerabilities to Cyber Scams Research
Job No.: 686697
Location: Clayton campus
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: The scholarship may be held for up to 3.5 years (fulltime) for Research Doctorate (PhD) studies
Remuneration: The successful applicant will receive:
- A Research Living Allowance, at current value of $36,063 AUD per annum for PhD (2025 rate with annual indexation)
- FIT Candidature Funding of $4,000 for the duration of the candidature
- Up to $1,265 from Monash Graduate Research Office as a one-off travel grant
The Opportunity
This is an unprecedented opportunity for an outstanding psychology or social sciences PhD candidate interested in researching vulnerability to cyber scams, supervised by Professor Monica Whitty at Monash University. The candidate will join one of the world’s leading cybersecurity research groups, focused on creating a more secure, safe, and fairer world.
Professor Monica Whitty is a Maureen Brunt Fellow and winner of the 2025 cyberpsychology and cybersecurity lifetime award for her dedicated and excellent research into the human factors in cybersecurity. Professor Whitty holds a Professorship in Human Factors in Cyber Security and is an expert in cybersecurity and cybercrimes, having led large interdisciplinary projects focused on cyber scams, insider threats, online deception, cybersecurity practices, education, awareness raising, and detecting and preventing disinformation. She has been an expert witness on 10+ court cases for scam victims (especially victims who were unknowingly tricked into becoming a drug mule). She was a member of the Global Futures Communities for Cyber Security for the World Economic Forum. Prof Whitty is the author of 5 books and over 100 articles. Examples of her books include: Cyberspace Romance: The Psychology of Online Relationships’ (2006, Palgrave) with Adrian Carr, and ‘Truth, Lies and Trust on the Internet’ (2009, Routledge) with Adam Joinson and Cyberpsychology: the study of individuals, society and digital technologies (2008, John Wiley & Sons) with Garry Young.
To be considered for this opportunity you should fulfil the eligibility requirements for Monash PhD candidates.
The minimum qualifications for admission into a doctoral course are:
- A bachelor’s degree of at least four years in a relevant discipline (i.e. psychology or social science), which includes a research thesis or project, with a minimum overall average grade of an honours degree equivalent to a first-class honours degree; or
- A master’s degree in a relevant discipline (i.e. psychology or social science) which includes a research thesis or project equivalent to at least 25 percent of one year of full-time study, with a minimum overall average equivalent to a first-class honours degree; or
- A qualification, or combination of qualifications and relevant professional experience, deemed equivalent by the GRC (or delegate).
Monash University strongly advocates diversity, equality, fairness and openness. We fully support the gender equity principles of the Athena SWAN Charter.
The Project
We invite applications from outstanding PhD candidates with undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications in psychology, sociology, information science, criminology or media and communication studies and who have training in quantitative methods (e.g., regressions, non-parametric, parametric tests, Structural Equation Modelling) and/or qualitative methods (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Thematic analysis, Content analysis) but NOT discourse analysis.
In this project, you will be expected to focus on either a group in society (e.g., the elderly, young people, or an ethnicity) or a particular cyber scam (e.g., investment or work-from-home scams) and design studies that will examine vulnerabilities to cyber scams.
The project is expected to generate new knowledge to understand vulnerabilities to cyber scams and effective methods to reduce victimisation.
What is expected of you
You are not expected to have prior experience researching cyber scams; rather, you should be a candidate trained in psychology or the social sciences who is strong in theoretical knowledge and methodological skills. You will also be required to demonstrate knowledge of the literature in this area and the ability to develop a solid research proposal drawing from theory in psychology and or the social sciences.
These references may assist as starter references:
Whitty, M. T. (2025). A systematic literature review of profiling victims of cyber scams: setting up a framework for future research. Cogent Social Sciences, 11 (1), 2563781. doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2025.2563781
Whitty, M. T (2020). Is there a scam for everyone? Psychologically profiling cyberscam victims. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 26(3), 399-409. doi.org/10.1007/s10610-020-09458-z
Whitty, M. T. (2013). The scammers’ persuasion techniques model: Development of a stage model to explain the online dating romance scam. British Journal o Criminology, 53(4), 665-684. doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azt009
This position has a two-stage selection process:
Stage 1: Please submit an EOI using the Faculty of Information Technology Research Project Enquiry form here: supervisorconnect.it.monash.edu/enquire.
With the EOI please include the documents requested by the form - CV, academic transcripts and cover letter - and a research proposal of up to 5 pages, including a literature review, research questions, aim/objectives, and a brief summary of planned studies.
Stage 2: Candidates who pass this stage of the selection process will be invited to be interviewed about their proposal by Professor Monica Whitty
Enquiries: Professor Monica Whitty, monica.whitty@monash.edu
Applications Close: Friday 14 November 2025, 11:55pm AEDT
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