Food fraud is a widespread problem that involves the act of defrauding consumers for economic gain. Food fraud incidents pose a considerable threat to the economic stability of agri-food industry as well as the health and welfare of consumers. With the increasing use of online grocery shopping, the Internet has facilitated deceptive and fraudulent practices by criminals. Using a sample of U.S. consumers, the current study explores the applicability of routine activities theory in the context of food fraud. The findings show that online routine activities, online target suitability, exposure to food ads, and perceived risk are significantly linked to food fraud victimization. Our study demonstrates that the routine activities theory is a useful framework to understand the vulnerabilities associated with food fraud. Implications for research and policy are discussed.

食品欺诈是一个普遍存在的问题，涉及欺诈消费者以获取经济利益的行为。食品欺诈事件严重威胁着农业食品行业的经济稳定以及消费者的健康和福利。随着在线杂货店购物的使用越来越多，互联网促进了犯罪分子的欺骗性和欺诈性行为。本研究以美国消费者为样本，探讨了日常活动理论在食品欺诈背景下的适用性。调查结果表明，在线例行活动，在线目标适合性，暴露于食品广告以及感知到的风险与食品欺诈受害程度密切相关。我们的研究表明，日常活动理论是了解食品欺诈相关漏洞的有用框架。