What goes wrong during phishing education? A probe into a game-based assessment with unfavorable results

Affan Yasin, Rubia Fatima, Lijie Wen, Jiangbin Zheng, Mahmood Niazi

Abstract: Highlights•The study introduces ”PhishI-URL,” a game-based approach to help users identify phishing URLs.•Game-based education did not significantly improve phishing URL identification over traditional methods.•Simply adding game elements without effective instructional design doesn’t guarantee better learning outcomes.•Effective phishing education needs careful, learner-centered design and thorough evaluation.•Enhancements like dynamic URL generation and personalized feedback could strengthen game-based learning.