PhD in Digital Fraud, Digital Trust, and Consumer Resilience at University of Amsterdam University of Amsterdam in Netherlands

PhD opportunity at the University of Amsterdam in the project AuthentiMark: Protecting Citizens Against Digital Fraud. The position is based in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and is part of a consortium focused on strengthening digital trust through digital watermarks and signatures to fight online fraud.

The project examines digital financial fraud, digital trust and authentication, online scams and fraud prevention, consumer resilience to fraud, and financial sector innovation. The successful candidate will investigate who is vulnerable to digital fraud, how fraud affects different groups, and whether digital watermarks/signatures can improve trust and reduce scams.

Research methods include surveys, experiments, focus groups, and field studies. The supervisory team includes Guda van Noort, Bart Jacobs, Sandra Jacobs, and Tom Dobber. The post also involves teaching Communication Science courses for 10% of the time and collaborating with academic and industry partners.

This is a fully funded 4-year PhD position funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO), with training and conference support. The expected start date is September 2026.

Eligibility highlights include a Master’s degree in Communication Science or a related field, experience with surveys, experiments, and qualitative research, excellent Dutch and English skills, and a strong interest in digital innovation and finance. Strong Dutch language skills are required because the studies and focus groups will be conducted in Dutch.

Deadline: 25 June 2026. Applicants should prepare a CV and a motivation letter in Dutch and apply via the University of Amsterdam vacancy page.