].

Problems associated with cybercrime

Life is a mix of good and bad. So is the internet despite its advantages, the internet has its dark side.
Cybercrime is not without cost and these cost increase daily. Cybercrime manifest in various ways such
as loss of life, loss of dignity and loss of employment. The impact of cybercrime is not only limited to
the victim; it spreads its impact on the society. The consequences of cybercrime on the economy to
include loss of revenue, wasted time, damaged the reputation and reduced productivity among others
[30].

Loss of Revenue

One of the main effects of cybercrime on an economy is the loss of revenue. For example in financial
institutions or multinational co-operations, loss of revenue can be caused by an outside party who obtain
sensitive financial information and uses it to withdraw funds from the account of such an institution.
Cybercrime can occur when a business’ e-commerce site become compromise while inoperable,
valuable income is lost when consumers are unable to use the site.

Damaged Reputation

In cases where customers records are compromised by a security breach associated with cybercrime, a
company’s reputation can take a major hit. Customers whose credit card or other financial data become
intercepted by hackers or other infiltrators lose confidence in such an organisation and often begin
taking their business elsewhere. Due to these problems, foreign investors often consider Nigeria as an
unattractive market, and it has a detrimental impact on Nigeria citizenry when they travel outside to do
business.

Reduce productivity

Due to the measures that many companies must implement to counteract cybercrime, there is often a
negative effect on employee productivity. This is because, due to security measures, employees must
enter more passwords and perform other time-consuming acts in other to do their jobs. Every second
wasted performing this task is a second not spent working productively. The impact of cybercrime
already has a detrimental influence on Nigerian Citizenry/Economy. Global anti-corruption body, such
as Transparency International has listed Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world [31].
Private companies around the world are beginning to take steps geared to blocking email traffic
originating from Nigeria. Nigerian financial instruments are now accepted with extreme due to diligence
around the world and some international banks have completely denied access to their

Theoretical underpinning of cybercrime

Cybercrime and criminological theory on the role of computers and internet as an interestingly pivoted
function in daily life, making it virtually essential to understand the dynamics of cybercrime and those
victimised by it [34]. The anthology cybercrime and criminology theory: first readings on hacking,
piracy, theft, and harassment explore the predators for participation in various forms of cybercrime and
deviance, from common problems like media piracy to more distinct offences such as computer hacking.
Most criminological theories were developed to account for street crimes, so it is unclear how these
methods may apply to virtual offending. This approach provides critical insight into the utility of
multiple theories to account for cybercrime. Cybercrime and criminological theory give direct insights
into the rates and prevalence of cybercrime offences using sets of data from population across the globe.
It offers readers a basic understanding of, and appreciation for various forms of cybercrime and outlines
prospective predator of both offending and victimisation. This theory is relevant to this study because it
has revealed that computers and internet are used to commit fraud, which they use to hack to do piracy,
theft, and harassment to individual and banks. It is also necessary to note that student use handsets to
commit examination malpractices. This theory can be applied because it will help to address the issue of
crimes at various levels ranging from community and socialisation influence theories. Theoretical
explanations of a crime are essential for several reasons. Not only do they help society to know how and
why crime occurs but they can also be useful in helping to prognosticate future criminal behaviour.
Theories of crime are also of help in attempting to prepare successful rehabilitative interventions for
offenders as well as developing crime blocking strategies that have the best chance of success in a giving
society

Differential association theory was propounded by [35]. He coined the phrase (differential association)
to address the issue of how people learn deviance. This theory explains deviance regarding the
individual social relationships. The theory sees the environment as playing a major role in deciding
which norms people learn to violate. Specifically, people within a particular reference group provide
norms of conformity and deviance. This theory is significant because it puts an individual social
environment into context as a means to explain why some individual engage in criminal behaviour. The
theory has the following assumptions, which is related to this study;

1. Criminal behaviour is learned: this means that criminal behaviour is not inherited as such the person
who is not already trained in crime does not invent criminal behaviour. This assumption proposes that
individuals are inherently good and only turn towards deviant behaviour as a result of learning the
behaviour.

2. Criminal behaviour is learned in interaction with other persons in the process of communication. An
individual is influenced to participate in criminal behaviour through watching and interacting with other
individuals who are engaging in the criminal behaviour [35].

3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behaviour occurs within intimate personal groups this
would be any group that has a significant influence over them such as their family or close friends this
factor makes a great deal of sense. Since the process of socialisation and growing up is heavily
influenced by the groups of people that an individual is a part of. Most families try to institute a positive
influence on a member of their own, however, if a juvenile comes from a family that is broken and
develop strong emotional ties with friends engaged in deviant behaviour then this is likely also to drive
them into the same deviant behaviour.

4. When criminal behaviour is learnt, the learning includes techniques of committing the crime, which is
sometimes very complicated, sometimes simple and they learn the specific direction of motives, drives,
rationalisations and attitudes for committing a crime. This means that an individual will be influenced
into believing that the behaviour which they may have previously believed was wrong, into believing
that it is right through rationalisation of the actions. For example, an individual from a disadvantaged
background may rationalise cybercrime as taking from those who have
According to Obono (2008: 40), cybercrime describes “those criminal acts either committed in
cyberspace, such as various forms of identity theft and bank fraud, or acts that have a physical
component and are simply facilitated by the use of internet-based tools”. Such acts commonly include
distribution of fraudulent e-mails, and pornography on the internet.

He further notes that cybercrimes are illegal activities perpetrated by one or more people using the
cyberspace through the medium of networked computers, telephones and other information and
communication technology equipment. There is hardly any crime committed in the world today that
does not have cybercrimes undertone, because of high of dependence on modern technology.

According to Oketola (2009:49) some young people use the web for information on current issues in
health, education, politics, researches, sports, and for personal development as well as building skills.
While others, misuse it for unconstructive activities.

It is perceived by many, that what constitutes young people’s involvement in cybercrimes largely
depends on their low level of moral standards, peer

pressure corruption, greed, poverty, and get-rich-quick-syndrome, lack of parental guidance and lack of
jobs.

2.2.5 EMPIRICAL STUDIES

Brief Review of Relevant Literatur

Concept of cybercrime According to Maitanmi (2013) cybercrime is a type of crime committed by

criminals who make use of a computer as a tool and the internet as a connection in order to reach a
variety of objectives such as illegal downloading of music files and films, piracy, spam mailing and the
likes. Similarly, Okeshola (2013) opined that the term cybercrime can be used to describe any criminal
activity which involves the use of computer or the internet network, including such crimes as fraud,
theft, blackmail, forgery, and embezzlement. These two definitions are very narrow in the sense that it
does not give a holistic view about what cybercrime is all about. As a consequence, the European
Commission as cited in Nigerian Communications Commission (‘n.d’) noted that a threefold definition
for cybercrime is: 1) traditional forms of crime such as fraud or forgery, though committed over
electronic communication networks and information systems; 2) the publication of illegal content over
electronic media (e.g. child sexual abuse

86

Interational Journal of Health and Social Inquiry, Vol. 5, No.1, 2019

material or incitement to racial hatred); 3) crimes unique to electronic networks, e.g.

attacks against information systems, denial of service and hacking.

Furthermore, the Home Office and the SOCA-led Cyber Threat Reduction Board (TRB) as
cited in House of Common (2013) defined cybercrime by using a three-fold categorization

including:

i. Pure online crimes, where a digital system is the target as well as the means of

attack. These include attacks on computer systems to disrupt IT infrastructure,

and stealing data over a network using malware (the purpose of the data theft is

usually to enable further crime);

ii. Existing crimes that have been transformed in scale or form by use of the internet.

The growth of the internet has allowed these crimes to be carried out on an

industrial scale; and

iii. Use of the internet to facilitate drug dealing, people smuggling and many other

‘traditional’ types of crime.

This definition seems more comprehensive because it covers comprehensive aspects that

could be associated with crimes using internet facilities. Based on the above

conceptualisations, cybercrimes in this study is defined as any criminal act relating to the

use of electronic means with the sole aim of gaining financial or other personal benefits

at the detriment of other people.

Forms of Cybercrimes There are several types of cyber-crimes some of which explored

in this section.

b) Fraud - Identity theft: Fraud is a criminal activity in which someone pretends to be

another person and retrieves vital information about the person; for instance, making a

false bank webpage to retrieve information of someone’s account. The concept is simple

and simply connotes someone gaining access to another’ personal information and uses

it for his or her own benefit. This could range from a black-hat hacker stealing online

banking account login and password to getting access to ATM and using such people can

make themselves a lot of money with personal information. In Nigeria people design web

links forms requesting users to fill in their basic information including, unique details like

pin numbers and use that to commit crimes (Olusola, Samson, Semiu &Yinka, 2013).

Theoretical Framework

The Social Strain Theory (SST) was adopted as the theoretical framework for this study.

It was developed within the socio-structural context of the United States by Merton
(1938). The major tenet of this theory lies on the postulation that when opportunities for

achieving the socially desirable goals are blocked, those affected may react in react in

different ways to adapt to their situation. To him, there are five distinct ways through

which people can adapt to social strain including: i) conformity; ii) innovation; iii)

ritualism; iv) retreatism and; v) rebellion.

Among these classifications, innovation is of major interest to drive the point with

regards to the issue of cybercrime in this study. In this direction, innovation is the ability

to develop new means of achieving socially desired ends. As such, innovators aim at

fulfilling the goals of the society but instead using legitimate channels, they find other

means to reach their goals. In other words, when the legitimate channels of achieving

socially desirable goals are perceived as being too stringent by some people, they become

innovative in finding ways of meeting such goals using other means. Cybercrime is one of

the innovative means adopted by a number of youths in Nigeria to amass wealth,

considering the view that other criminal acts such as armed robbery and kidnapping etc;

are perceived as becoming more riskier for them due to improved security networks past

few years. Thus, youths’ involvement into cybercrime is a rational calculation that such

crime within the Nigerian context is less risky and can attract wealth within one’s private

Environment.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE RRRREVIE

Here in this chapter Conceptual Framework, Theoretical Framework, Empirical Review and Summary
of Literature Review will be discussed.

2.1 Conceptual Framework: Here concepts that relates to A critical examination of university student's
opinion on internet fraud and cybercrime. A study of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra State
will be discussed.

2.1.3Effects of Cybercrime and Internet Fraud on University Students in Nigeria

Cybercrime and internet fraud have become prevalent issues in Nigeria, posing significant threats to
individuals, businesses, and even institutions of higher education. University students, in particular, are
highly vulnerable to these crimes due to their extensive use of technology and online platforms. This
essay examines the effects of cybercrime and internet fraud on university students in Nigeria, exploring
the psychological, financial, and academic consequences they face. It emphasizes the need for
awareness, preventive measures, and support systems to mitigate the impact of these crimes.

I. Psychological Effects:

Trust and Security Concerns:

a. University students may develop a general sense of distrust towards online transactions and
communication, affecting their online activities.

b. Fear of becoming victims of cybercrime can lead to heightened anxiety, stress, and diminished
confidence in using the internet.

c. The emotional impact may result in decreased productivity and hinder personal and academic growth.

Identity Theft and Privacy Invasion:

a. Cybercriminals often engage in identity theft, causing immense distress and psychological harm to the
victims.

b. University students may experience a loss of control over their personal information, leading to
feelings of vulnerability and invasion of privacy.

c. The fear of further exploitation can negatively impact students' mental well-being and their ability to
trust others, both online and offline.

II. Financial Consequences:

Financial Loss:

a. University students may fall prey to various online scams, such as phishing, lottery scams, or
fraudulent investment schemes, resulting in significant financial losses.

b. The financial burden can lead to increased stress, debt accumulation, and financial instability,
potentially affecting their academic pursuits.

Impaired Economic Prospects:

a. Victims of cybercrime may face long-term financial consequences, such as damaged credit scores or
compromised financial records, affecting their ability to secure loans or employment opportunities.

b. Financial setbacks may force students to divert their attention from studies to part-time jobs or other
means of financial support, thereby compromising their academic performance.

III. Academic Impact:

Distraction and Reduced Productivity:

a. Engaging in fraudulent activities or falling victim to cybercrime can distract students from their
academic responsibilities.

b. Students may spend excessive time dealing with the aftermath of cyberattacks, impacting their focus,
concentration, and overall productivity.

Academic Dishonesty:
a. Cybercriminals may target students by offering services such as essay writing, exam cheating, or
purchasing fake degrees, leading to academic dishonesty.

b. Participation in such activities undermines the integrity of the education system and can have severe
consequences, including expulsion or tarnished academic records.

Reputation and Future Opportunities:

a. University students involved in cybercrime or internet fraud can face significant reputational damage,
impacting their future career prospects.

b. Employers may be reluctant to hire individuals with a history of fraudulent activities, hindering their
professional growth and limiting job opportunities.

The effects of cybercrime and internet fraud on university students in Nigeria are far-reaching,
encompassing psychological, financial, and academic domains. To address these challenges, a
comprehensive approach is necessary. This includes raising awareness about online risks, implementing
robust security measures, enhancing digital literacy programs, and establishing support systems for
affected students. By fostering a secure and supportive online environment, universities can play a
crucial role in safeguarding their students against cybercrime and internet fraud, ensuring their personal
well-being and academic success.

2.1.4 Ways to Eradicate cybercrime and internet fraud in Nigeria

Eradicating cybercrime and internet fraud in any country, including Nigeria, requires a comprehensive
and multi-faceted approach involving various stakeholders, such as government agencies, law
enforcement, financial institutions, and individuals. Here are some strategies that can help combat
cybercrime and internet fraud:

Strengthen Legislation: Enhance and enforce existing laws related to cybercrime and internet fraud. This
includes ensuring appropriate penalties for offenders and providing law enforcement agencies with the
necessary legal frameworks to investigate and prosecute cybercriminals effectively.

Public Awareness and Education: Conduct public awareness campaigns to educate individuals about
common cyber threats, online scams, and best practices for staying safe online. Educate citizens about
the risks of engaging in cybercriminal activities and promote digital literacy to empower users to protect
themselves.

Collaboration and Cooperation: Encourage collaboration and information sharing among government
agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, and international organizations to track, identify, and
dismantle cybercriminal networks. Foster cooperation with foreign counterparts to facilitate the
extradition of cybercriminals involved in transnational crimes.

Strengthen Law Enforcement Capacity: Provide specialized training and resources to law enforcement
agencies to enhance their technical capabilities in investigating cybercrimes. Establish dedicated
cybercrime units that can effectively respond to incidents and gather digital evidence for prosecution.

Enhance Cybersecurity Infrastructure: Invest in robust cybersecurity infrastructure at the national level
to protect critical infrastructure, government systems, and sensitive data. Encourage organizations and
individuals to implement strong security measures, such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, and
regular software updates.

Financial Regulations and Monitoring: Implement stricter financial regulations and monitoring
mechanisms to prevent money laundering and the use of illicit funds obtained through cybercrime.
Financial institutions should adopt robust anti-fraud measures and conduct thorough customer due
diligence to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions.

International Cooperation: Collaborate with international partners and organizations to share

intelligence, exchange best practices, and coordinate efforts in combating cybercrime. Participate
actively in global initiatives focused on cybersecurity and information sharing.

Support for Startups and Innovation: Foster a supportive environment for cybersecurity startups and
innovation. Encourage the development of local cybersecurity solutions, products, and services to
address emerging threats and vulnerabilities.

Reporting and Support Mechanisms: Establish user-friendly reporting channels for cybercrime incidents
and provide support to victims. Encourage individuals and organizations to report cybercrimes promptly,
ensuring their confidentiality and protection.

Continuous Monitoring and Adaptation: Maintain constant vigilance and adapt strategies to keep up with
evolving cyber threats. Regularly assess the effectiveness of implemented measures and make necessary
adjustments to stay ahead of cybercriminals.

It's important to note that eradicating cybercrime completely is challenging, and efforts should focus on
minimizing its impact, increasing awareness, and creating a safer digital environment for all users.

2 .2 Theoretical Framework

Here theories as it relates to cybercrime and internet fraud will be discussed.

2.2.1 Robert K. Merton’s Anomie/Strain Theory

Merton (1968) argued that deviance, in whatever form, is a product of the culture and structure of the
society. This theory is based on the functionalist concept of value consensus which refers to common
values accepted by members of the society. Thus, deviance occurs when the values acceptable by the
society do not match or cannot be attained by the culturally prescribed means. Merton (1968) believes
that members of the society share major goals or values such as success which is often measured by
wealth and material possessions. On the other hand, there are institutionalized means of attaining such
goals which may include educational qualifications, hard work, talent, skill, determination, and
ambition. In a normal and balanced society, emphasis ought to be placed on both the cultural goals and
the institutionalized means. However, an unbalanced society will result in neglect of the means which
results in a state of anomie where members of the society abandon the rules of the game in a bid to
achieve the goals. When the rules are no longer adhered to, deviance, in whatever form, is promoted.
But members of the society do not all respond to this situation in the same way. In fact, Merton
identifies five distinct ways presented below:

a. Conformity: This is the most common response. Here, members of the society conform to the cultural
goals and stick to the institutionalized means. They strive to achieve these goals through the normative
means or accepted channels. This is the most common, and it is the basis upon which the continuity and
stability of the society is based.

b. Innovation: This is the response that provoked interest in this study. It involves the rejection of
normative means of achieving success and turns to deviance. In other words, innovators accept the
cultural goals but adopt alternative means of achieving such goals which promises greater returns than
institutionalized means.
c. Ritualism: Those who respond under this category are regarded as deviant because they abandon
social goals of success but stick to the institutionalized means of achieving such goals. According to
Merton, this occurs because they have been socialized to such norms and goals but have leas opportunity
to reach the goals.

d. Retreatism: This applies to pariahs, vagabonds, outcasts, vagrants who despite internalizing both
cultural goals and institutionalized means, are still unable to achieve success. Thus, they resolve this
conflict by abandoning both, a situation that can be likened with “dropping out” of the society.

e. Rebellion: It is the rejection of both cultural goals and institutionalized means. However, in addition
to the rejection, an attempt is made to replace them with alternative goals and means in order to create a
new society.

Merton describes the causes of deviance as individual adaptations to the contradictions in the structure
and sociocultural goals of the modern society. Economic success is defined as accessible and achievable
by all and this assumption is the basis upon which cultural goals are proposed for all members of the
society. However, the means to achieving such goals are not equally available to all members of the
society (Farnworth & Leiber, 2007). This societal disjunction results in varying strains at the individual
level as already described, especially when the lower class recognizes the hindrances of conventional
means to achieving such cultural goals. Furthermore, Merton specified that economic wealth is a
dominant goal in society and education is the conventional means of attaining such wealth. Strains occur
when means cannot achieve goals as the existence of jobs within the country can no longer serve as a
means of achieving the cultural goal of wealth which results in pressure on youths who give in to
varying individual responses.

The suitability of the Anomie/Strain Theory (AST) for the study is underpinned by the result of other
studies on the factors that motivate young persons to delve into Internet fraud and other criminal acts,
especially in Nigeria. Jegede et al. (2016) explained that the failure of the government and society at
large to provide legally acceptable and institutionalized means of achieving cultural goals such as
economic success has led younger members of the society to opt for either attitudinal apathy towards the
society or deviant innovation. This position is equally echoed by Makinde (2005) as youths are
constantly innovating as a way of adapting to the harsh political and economic environment. As several
studies implicate poverty (Okeshola & Adeta, 2013; Tade & Aliyu, 2011), unemployment and
underemployment (Adesina, 2017; Adeniran, 2008) as the major factors that motivate involvement in
cybercrimes, it is obvious that young adults in the society experience severe hindrances to their ability to
achieve economic success through the traditional means. In this regards, Merton’s Innovation strain
appears as an interesting theoretical framework for explaining the involvement of young persons in
Internet fraud.

2.2.2Routine Activity Theory (RAT)

The theory focused on environmental “opportunities for crime”. Essentially, when a potential criminal
opportunity arises the act will occur at a juncture in time and space between a motivated offender and a
suitable target for victimization. This crime will ultimately take place in a location that lacks a capable
guardian to protect the ‘suitable target,’ which is considered to be either a vulnerable person or one’s
unguarded property. Thus, the absence of any one of these three situational factors should theoretically
make the commission of a crime impossible (Davis, 2002 in Collins, Sainato & Khey 2011). As a result,
routine activity theory is considered to be a macro-level theory applicable to numerous types of crime as
it seeks to explain the criminal victimization process and not a criminal’s specific motivations (Akers &
Sellers, 2009 in Collins, Sainato & Khey 2011).The theory predicts that crime occurs when a motivated
offender comes into contact with a suitable target in the absence of a capable guardian that could
potentially prevent the offender from committing crime. Ngo and Paternoster (2011) said that, the theory
posits that variations in crime rates could be explained by the supply of suitable targets and capable
guardians, and from our understanding the theory is somewhat agnostic about the role of the supply of
motivated offenders.

2.2.3 Differential Association Theory

Differential association theory was propounded by Edwin Sutherland. He coined the phrase (differential
association) to address the issue of how people learn deviance. This theory explains deviance regarding
the individual social relationships. The theory sees the environment as playing a major role in deciding
which norms people learn to violate. Specifically, people within a particular reference group provide
norms of conformity and

deviance. This theory is significant because it puts an individual social environment into context as a
means to explain why some individual engage in criminal behaviour. The theory has the following
assumptions, which is related to this study;

1. Criminal behaviour is learned: this means that criminal behaviour is not inherited as such the person
who is not already trained in crime does not invent criminal behaviour. This assumption proposes that
individuals are inherently good and only turn towards deviant behaviour as a result of learning the
behaviour.

2. Criminal behaviour is learned in interaction with other persons in the process of communication. An
individual is influenced to participate in criminal behaviour through watching and interacting with other
individuals who are engaging in the criminal behaviour.

3. The principal part of the learning of criminal behaviour occurs within intimate personal groups this
would be any group that has a significant influence over them such

as their family or close friends this factor makes a great deal of sense. Since the process of socialisation
and growing up is heavily influenced by the groups of people that an individual is a part of. Most
families try to institute a positive influence on a member of their own, however, if a juvenile comes from
a family that is broken and develop strong emotional ties with friends engaged in deviant behaviour then
this is likely also to drive them into the same deviant behaviour.

4. When criminal behaviour is learnt, the learning includes techniques of committing the crime, which is
sometimes very complicated, sometimes simple and they learn the specific direction of motives, drives,
rationalisations and attitudes for committing a crime. This means that an individual will be influenced
into believing that the behaviour which they may have previously believed was wrong, into believing
that it is right through rationalisation of the actions. For example, an individual from a disadvantaged
background may rationalise cybercrime as taking from those who have wealth to make things fair,
among others.

This theory was propounded to help explain white-collar crime, fits in with those who violate or commit
cybercrime.

2.3 Empirical Review

There are numerous causes of Internet fraud identified by several empirical studies. For instance,
Hassan, Lass and Makinde (2012) opined that the causes of cybercrime are urbanization and negative
role models, while Okeshola and Adeta (2013) pointed to defective socialization, peer pressure, group
influence, weak laws, easy access to Internet and poverty. However, Tade and Aliyu, (2011) identified
the following as the causes of cybercrime: gullibility/greed of the victims, lack of standards, inefficient
national central control, lack of national functional database, porous nature of the Internet, get rich
syndrome, and lack of e-policing, while other studies implicate unemployment, corruption, and poverty
as the causes. Jegede (2010) pointed out that due to economic and social realities prevailing in the
society, youths are constantly innovating, finding means of achieving societal goals through other
alternative means. However, some of these alternatives are sometimes illegal or deviant and often
include crimes such as cybercrimes, prostitution, kidnapping, and armed robbery. Tade and Aliyu (2011)
assert that Internet fraudsters, especially in Nigeria, do not view Internet fraud as deviant but a product
of innovation in their coping strategies. Consequently, their knowledge of the Internet is deployed,
without minding the consequences for the national image, as a way of coping with economic issues of
poverty and unemployment. This continues to encourage other youths to join the increasing number of
Internet fraudsters and has complicated government efforts to curb their activities.

The study adopted an in-depth analysis of the underlying ideologies and circumstances that continue to
motivate the involvement of young adults in fraudulent activities while adopting Robert Merton’s
Anomie/Strain Theory as the theoretical thrust of the study. However, this study clearly departs from
what is usually obtained in cybercrime studies by choosing to investigate the subjective construction of
Internet fraud as an innovative enterprise (and not a criminal act) among young adults who are engaged
in this act. By doing so, the study brings to light the differing opinions held by young adults and law
enforcement agencies about Internet fraud and offers insight into what may be wrong with the Nigerian
government’s war on Internet fraud. Finally, the study contributes to existing literature on the Internet
fraud by presenting empirical facts about the subjective perception of Internet fraud that motivates
young adults to remain involved in such criminal acts despite clampdowns from law enforcement agents
and also indicates other interesting areas for further research.

In 2008, 275,284 complaints were referred to the Internet Fraud Complaints Centre. According to this
report, this is an increase of 33.1% from the previous year (which recorded 206,884 reports). About
77.4% of the perpetrators were male and the majority of the perpetrators reside in the United States,
closely followed by the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Canada, China and South Africa. A study published
by Youth against Cybercrimes and Fraud in Nigeria (2008) indicated that one out of every five, or 20%
of youths in major urban centers in Nigeria is a cybercriminal. This is rather disturbing trend has been
attributed to the worsening state of Nigeria’s economy and the status of the country in the comity of
nations (Jegede & Olowookere, 2014).

In a study conducted by Bengal et al. (2012) to determine the prevalence of cybercrime in Nigeria, the
estimated consumer loss to cybercrime in Nigeria was put at N2,146,666,345,014.75
($13,547,910,034.80) which ranges from different types of cybercrime like fake lotteries and Internet
scams. In a study by Oluwadare, et al. (2018) to examine the prevalence of cybercrime in Ekiti State
University, Nigeria, it was revealed that cybercrime is a common trend in the university such that an
overwhelming number of participants in the study affirmed that they have heard about the phenomenon
in recent times. In a related work by Okesola and Abimbola (2013), it was reported that the
perpetrator(s) of cybercrime are not aliens but members of our immediate social environment.
Furthermore, the Nigeria Communication Commission (2017) says that Nigeria is currently ranked 3rd
globally in cybercrime behind the United Kingdom and the United States of America in which Nigeria
has lost #125 billion to cybercrime as estimated in 2015. Its prevalence is due to the fact that many
youths or students see cybercrime as an assured path to financial freedom. As in all parts of the world,
the consequences of cybercrime in Nigeria are related to financial loss. According to the Nigeria Deposit
Insurance Corporation (NDIC), in its 2014 Annual Report, the Niferua Banking sector between 2013
and 2014 witnessed a 183% increase in e-payment fraud. Another report published by the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies, UK, in 2014 estimated the cost of cybercrime to Nigeria to be about
0.08% of our GDP on an annual basis (Iroegbu, 2016).
2.4 Summary of Literature Review

Here things that was Discussed in this chapter will be summarize according to how it was discussed.

This chapter started with Conceptual framework where some concepts were discussed as it relates to
internet fraud and cybercrime. The conceptual framework started with Internet Fraud in Nigeria, Here
things about internet fraud in Nigeria was exposed. The prevalence and increased involvement of
Nigerian youth in cybercrime has remained a concern for the national government and relevant agencies
due to adverse effects such as a negative international image for Nigeria and Nigerians. This is even as
the country continues to be regarded as the breeding ground for con artists and fraudsters (Muraina &
Muraina, 2015). According to a global network cyber security vendor, Check Point, in 2016, Nigeria
was ranked 16th in cyber-attacks vulnerabilities in Africa (Ewepu, 2016). The perception of Nigerians as
fraudsters globally is informed partly by the high number of Nigerians implicated and/or indicted in such
criminal acts compared to other nationalities. This is a fact that is often readily pointed out in the media
(Omodunbi, Odiase, Olaniyan & Esan, 2016). According to Olaide and Adewole (2004), the majority of
cybercriminals in Nigeria are youths. The identified benefits of Internet technology are the main
motivating factor for mass participation of youths in virtual spaces globally, even for the wrong reasons
(Jegede, Olowookeere & Elegbeleye, 2016). In explaining the seeming affinity between youths and
cybercrimes, Jegede et-al. (2016) posited that it is important to identify the causal factors in the nature of
the society. The state of the society has a way of influencing or presenting challenges to the survival of
the society and occupants. These include cultural, socioeconomic and psycho-physical components of
such society. According to Jegede et al. (2016) in order to understand the youth-cybercrime situation in
Nigeria, the role of the state in the prevalence of cyber fraud cannot be ignored. Citing a Nigerian
Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) review (2001), Jegede at al. (2016) pointed to the
failure of the Nigerian state to fully cater to the economic and social wellbeing of its citizens by failing
to implement laudable policies, a malaise that has several socioeconomic problems

Another concept that was discussed is Cybercrime in Nigeria, cybercrime has been on the agenda of the
Nigerian Government for many years. Investigations – in particular of fraud-related cybercrime – have
been carried out in particular by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). Though the
Evidence Act was amended in 2011 to cater for the admissibility of electronic evidence, the absence of a
legal framework on cybercrime hampered effective criminal justice measures until 2015. In February
2015, the Government adopted the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy prepared by the Inter-
Ministerial Committee coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser. It is based on the
understanding that threats to information and communication technology are threats to Nigeria national
security touching the “economic, political and social fabric of Nigeria.” The most significant threats
identified are cybercrime, cyber-espionage, cyber conflict, cyber-terrorism and child online abuse &
exploitation.

The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 was enacted and entered into force on 15th
May 2015. The purpose of the Act is also to promote cybersecurity and cybercrime prevention, and it
provides for obligations to the private sector – including ISPs, telecommunication operators and
financial institutions – to report and cooperate with law enforcement authorities and the Nigerian
Computer Emergency Response Team (ng-CERT).

In this chapter theories were discussed for assumption and predictions reasons . Three theories was used
used here in order to give a better understanding to this topic. The first theory is; Robert K. Merton’s
Anomie/Strain Theory.

Merton (1968) argued that deviance, in whatever form, is a product of the culture and structure of the
society. This theory is based on the functionalist concept of value consensus which refers to common
values accepted by members of the society. Thus, deviance occurs when the values acceptable by the
society do not match or cannot be attained by the culturally prescribed means. Merton (1968) believes
that members of the society share major goals or values such as success which is often measured by
wealth and material possessions. On the other hand, there are institutionalized means of attaining such
goals which may include educational qualifications, hard work, talent, skill, determination, and
ambition. In a normal and balanced society, emphasis ought to be placed on both the cultural goals and
the institutionalized means. However, an unbalanced society will result in neglect of the means which
results in a state of anomie where members of the society abandon the rules of the game in a bid to
achieve the goals. When the rules are no longer adhered to, deviance, in whatever form, is promoted.
But members of the society do not all respond to this situation in the same way. The second theory is;
Routine Activity Theory (RAT).

The theory focused on environmental “opportunities for crime”. Essentially, when a potential criminal
opportunity arises the act will occur at a juncture in time and space between a motivated offender and a
suitable target for victimization. This crime will ultimately take place in a location that lacks a capable
guardian to protect the ‘suitable target,’ which is considered to be either a vulnerable person or one’s
unguarded property. Thus, the absence of any one of these three situational factors should theoretically
make the commission of a crime impossible (Davis, 2002 in Collins, Sainato & Khey 2011). As a result,
routine activity theory is considered to be a macro-level theory applicable to numerous types of crime as
it seeks to explain the criminal victimization process and not a criminal’s specific motivations (Akers &
Sellers, 2009 in Collins, Sainato & Khey 2011).The theory predicts that crime occurs when a motivated
offender comes into contact with a suitable target in the absence of a capable guardian that could
potentially prevent the offender from committing crime. Ngo and Paternoster (2011) said that, the theory
posits that variations in crime rates could be explained by the supply of suitable targets and capable
guardians, and from our understanding the theory is somewhat agnostic about the role of the supply of
motivated offenders. The last theory is; Differential Association Theory.

Differential association theory was propounded by Edwin Sutherland. He coined the phrase (differential
association) to address the issue of how people learn deviance. This theory explains deviance regarding
the individual social relationships. The theory sees the environment as playing a major role in deciding
which norms people learn to violate. Specifically, people within a particular reference group provide
norms of conformity and deviance. This theory is significant because it puts an individual social
environment into context as a means to explain why some individual engage in criminal behaviour.
Those theories are very important, it a great help for the work.

The recent improvement in technology has broadened the scope of communication across nations of the
world aided primarily using internet system. According to Okeshola and Adeta (2013), the widespread
adoption of the internet has brought about two distinct and separate events across the world; and) First, it
has helped in promoting e-business and integrating nations and national economies of the world;
Second, it has increased the rate of ill behaviors or inappropriate social behavior, and crime especially
among youths. In addition, the usage (if not over use) of internet has exposed many young people to
activities relate

2.2. UNDERSTANDING CYBERCRIME FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Globalization has led to rapid development all over the world, it has reduced stress and made activities a
lot easier. Despite the advantages brought by globalization, it also paved way for negativity. Internet use
is one of the invention introduced by globalization. The sole purpose is to bring the world together and
to make gathering of information very easy and fast. The Internet has created unlimited access for both
legitimate and illegitimate transactions. Some group of people harness the positive use of the internet
and use it for deceit. This gave birth to the phenomenon called cybercrime- it has become a significant
area of interest as perpetrators, victims, and motives vary greatly in cyber-criminal activities. Dashora
(2011), noted that cybercrime has become a challenge in the cyber world. In the same vein, McCusker
(2006) believes cybercrime has become almost an everyday lifestyle; victims accept their fate after
being dwindled by the perpetrator. The perpetrators of cybercrime are so crafty to the extent that it is
difficult to trace them and this is because fake identities are major and core tools for fraudulent
activities. However, this is the reason why citizens especially in developing countries resign after being
duped. Dalal (2006) observes that information technology is two-sided; it can destroy a strongly built
system and in the same vein constructively strengthen cyber security.

Cybercrime is a global phenomenon; the term cybercrime represents offences capable of producing
psychological and geopolitical concerns perpetuated with the usage of computer and internet (Suleiman,
2016). Cybercrime is not limited to a country neither is it restricted by geographical boundaries. It has
become a global phenomenon, affecting both developed and developing countries. Tanebaum (2001)
acknowledges the fact that the function of computer is the same around the globe, the only difference is
the brand and model. Computer technology have been in existence for a very long time. According to
McLaughlin (1978), dating back to the 60s till present day cybercrime is gradually updating as
technology develops. In 1960, cybercrime focused on physical destruction to computer system parts and
stored data. In the mid-1960s, the United States criminal abuse focused on databases and the related
risks to privacy. In 1970s, traditional ways of 9

committing crimes such as manual stealing was in place. The computer came into place and modernized
ways of stealing. In 1980s, the number of computer systems has increased, hence creating more potential
targets for cybercriminals. Yee, (2000) explains that internet access enables cybercriminals perpetrate
crimes through the computer without being present at the crime scene.

In the 1990s, a graphical interface 1World Wide Web (WWW) was introduced, this led to a tremendous
growth in the number of internet users, and this invention also welcomed new challenges in the cyber
world. It means more advanced functions, more perpetrators and more victims. Another challenge
associated with internet access is the investigation of cybercrimes. Information exchange has greatly
affected investigation process, this is because most of the cybercriminals communicate with themselves,
and this helps them keep clear tracks to avoid being caught. In each preceding decade, there is always a
new twist in cybercrime. The perpetrators always find new means after which their previous scheme has
been blown open. In the 21st century, offenders can automate attacks with new schemes and train up
interested persons which have led to the increase of cybercriminals around the world. Countries around
the world including international organizations have responded greatly to the growing challenges caused
by cybercrime and have given it utmost priority. This action can be subject to both civil and criminal
action depending on the target (Salifu, 2008).

2.3. CONCEPTUALIZING CYBERCRIME IN THE NIGERIAN CONTEXT

There exists a connection between the degree to which wrongdoings are executed in a nation and the sort
of public image the nation will appreciate (Abdul-Rasheed et al., 2016). This is because the image of a
country is firmly associated with its household exercises and the sort of relationship it sets up with the
outside world. There are such many routes in which a country can extend its notoriety at the worldwide
framework; these ways are not detached to how the nation conducts it household exercises (Abdul-
Rasheed et al., 2016).
A considerable number of people in Nigeria have grasped the ICT developments, with the end goal that
the Internet medium at this point takes bigger piece of their days when contrasted with their other day by
day activities. The assortments of application offered by the Net, for example, electronic mailing, "visit"
frameworks and Internet Messaging (IM), frequently serve as great 12

justification for completing corrupt and other tricky exercises by the crooks popularly known as yahoo-
yahoo boys (Adeniran, 2008). At the end of the day, "the Internet has opened up another window for the
improvement of another criminal segment of misrepresentation.

The difficult part of this kind of new extortion is that culprits can now utilize the unknown preferred
standpoint of the Internet to bring about damage" and defraud others (Abdul-Rasheed et al.., 2016). The
circumstance is so awful now that high school leavers, undergraduates and graduates are discovering
cybercrimes (Yahoo-Yahoo) as alternate way to achievement and a short means to elaborate lifestyle
(Tade, 2013). This has incredibly influenced the global image of the nation because an average Nigeria
youth is suspected and assumed to be cybercrime perpetrator; subsequently, the image of the nation has
been severely influenced (Abdul-Rasheed et al., 2016).

2.5. TYPOLOGIES OF CYBERCRIME

To understand cybercrime, it is very important to distinguish them appropriately, since the motive and
mode of operation by perpetrators differ according to the various types of cybercrime. Koops (2011),
noted that cybercrime has become a trending topic, it stressed the fact that the invention of computer has
raised new questions for criminal law and policy. Focus has shifted from computer-related crime to the
victim. Cybercrimes have risen to a high percentage in recent years becoming more organized and
networked. Cybercrime is two-sided: the first side deals with the infections of computer with various
viruses and malwares while the other side has employed cyber tool as a medium for deceit and fraud
(examples: Cyber stalking, Fraud and identity theft, Information warfare Phishing scams) (Taylor et al.,
2014).

Cybercrime consist a broad range of different offences and this makes it difficult to develop a specific
type or classify cybercrime in a single manner (McCusker, 2006). Koops (2011), poses that the internet
plays a huge role in the perpetuation and sustenance of cybercrime. The internet has fully transformed
the way in which cybercrime is being perpetuated. Cybercrime evolves into new forms and with
different patterns every year.

(Cornish et al., 2010) identified three major categories of cybercrime. These include:

 Individual: This type of cybercrime is in form of cyber stalking and distributing pornography.
Security and Law enforcement agencies have taken this category very seriously. In Nigeria, several
people stalk your social media accounts, upload pornography on your page to portray you as a bad
person, some of these perpetrators use it to blackmail their victims to get money from them.

 Property: In this case, cybercriminals steal a person’s bank details including the details on the credit
card and withdraw almost or all the money and misuse the credit card to make

14
several purchases online. They also run scams by selling invincible products that will capture the
attention of their victims with promise to deliver the goods after payment. Some place sales advert on
various social media with tempting offers to draw attention of unsuspecting victims to make them part
away with their hard-earned money. In Nigeria, some perpetrators send text messages, claiming that
their potential victims Credit Card have been blocked and they can help them unblock it. Many have
fallen victim to this game and have lost their hard-earned money.

 Government: This category is not very common as other categories; crime against the government is
referred to as “Cyber Terrorism”. This category wreaks havoc and cause panic amongst the citizens. In
this category, cybercriminals hack into government websites using malicious software. These
perpetrators are mostly unfriendly governments of other nations.

The Jones (2006) also identified three major types of offences relating to cybercrime: Offences against
the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems (hacking, viruses and
possessing hacker software); Computer-related offences (forgery and fraud); Content-related offences
(copyright and patent offences).

Other prominent forms of cybercrime are discussed below:

2.5.1. Tax-refund fraud

According to Yurcan, (2011), the prevalence of tax-refund fraud alarming recently. The abuse of the tax-
refund program is escalated and damaging to the financial return scheme. Journal of Accountancy in
October reported that culprits were charged with over 5,000 false tax returns in a single law suit which
they carried out by falsifying the identities and social security numbers of dead tax payers to make
claims to about $14 million.

The strategy is to access the essential documentations needed for processing tax refunds from someone
who will not be filing for refund but most preferably using details from a diseased person. Various illicit
computer mechanisms are adopted as avenue and quick platforms to obtain this information. While
phishing and social engineering are leveraged upon, a black market of illicit 15

sale of compiled documentations for such unscrupulous act is also operated. Social security numbers,
address, date of birth of various person are traded in this black market. It has been discovered that
marketers are persons who are insiders in various institutions and have access to vital information, for
example, workers in hospitals, doctor’s offices and people who capture information for newly purchased
vehicles (Anderson et l., 2013).

2.5.2. Corporate account takeover

Singleton and Ursillo (2010), opined that an emerging form of cybercrime christened Cooperate
Account Takeover became popular in the summer of 2008. It impact is devastating and ruins institutions
into debts worth millions. The attack requires a sophisticated knowledge of hacking and computer
manipulation because perpetuators obtain essential complain details and hack one of its computers to
loot the company of thousands of dollars. While it most witnessed form has been via electronic cash
transfers, it is important to note that it could be in form of Automated Clearing House (ACH) or wire
transfer that is explained in three phases.
The first step is, illicitly acquiring login credentials. These details are systematically derived by sending
bulk email messages or advertorial links to people without any legitimate intent but to defraud. The
messages are sent with malicious intent and have been wired with programs such as Trojans to sniff out
essential information from the computers of the recipient.

After the essential details have been gotten illegally, the next step involves gaining unauthorised access
to the victim’s computer to avoid flagging off red signals (Anderson et l., 2013). To avoid raising alarm,
they hijack a computer from the company and use this trusted source to avoid the security check of the
bank login finger print from unrecognised sources. This approach allows them carry out their activities
without any grave danger of been interrupted in the process.

The final phase is to transfer funds from the hacked account to the victims account before they move it
out to other incorporated private accounts from which the money might be distributed systemically
across the globe to avoid easy traces. 16

2.5.3. Identity theft

Cybercriminals usually illegally steals a person’s vital information to perpetuate fraudulent acts, when
this occurs it is usually classified as identity theft. It is usually considered unprofitable unless the
information stolen is used to make financial rewards. It is therefore a process that allows other forms of
cyber offences that defraud- tax-refund, credit-card theft, loan fraud and other crimes.

This type of cybercrime does not benefit unless there is a financial reward for the effort or some type of
damage that can be done with the data.

2.5.4. Theft of sensitive data

Vital information is very attractive to cybercriminals because these information re very essential tools
for their illegal escapade. They include; personally, identifiable information, trade secrets, source code,
customer information and record of employees. These type of cybercrime is very linked to the previous
discussed and they often require multiple phases that interlock al the mentioned types to be successful in
their operation. However, the financial, economic, social and psychological impact of cybercrime is
enormous and disastrous. As reported in 2012 that cybercriminals hacked the South Carolina
Department of Revenue and stole that cybercriminals hacked and stole 3.6 million social security
numbers and 387,000 credit/debit card numbers. These is possible because of their knowledge of
modern technology and their abilty to manipulate the usage of computer and internet to their advantage
(Bonner, 2012).

2.5.5. Theft of intellectual property

This type of activities includes the theft of commercial, copyrighted materials like movies, music and
books. The perpetrators are varying and various agents within the social context of society have been
listed as promoters of such intellectual theft (Moore et al., 2011). The goal is to illegal possess the
intellectual property and use it in an unauthorised manner to profit themselves.

Other forms and types of cybercrime includes; Consumer/economic fraud, computer-related fraud,
traditional fraud, hacking and child pornography. Consumer fraud is a form of cybercrime that 17

involves intentionally deceiving victims with the promise to deliver non-existing goods and services
(Titus 2001). Consumer fraud comes in different patterns and forms. Cybercriminals involved in
consumer fraud are increasing due to internet access, they are all over the social media, stalking
accounts of certain suitable targets for their schemes (Newman and Clarke 2013; Wall 2005, Wilson et
al. 2006; Yar 2006).

Hacking is a popular form of cybercrime; cybercriminals break into a person’s computer to access
certain personal or sensitive information. Some organization make use of hacking to test the strength of
their internet security, this act is known as Ethical Hacking. Hackers make use of several means to gain
access into a person’s personal account without being present in the crime scene. They make use of virus
to also access this information (Yar, 2013).

2.5.6. Internet fraud as a distinct type of cybercrime

Without Internet access, there will be limited cases of cybercrime. Hence, it is appropriate to say that the
Internet is the major tool for perpetrating cybercrime. Koops (2011) explained that the Internet started
existing in 1960s, but it became popular and captured the attention of the government security and law
enforcement agencies in the mid‐1990s. The internet has changed the nature of crime as he described in
his seminar work titled “Cybercrime – The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age” Wall
(2007), opined that because of the special feature the internet possesses, it provides special opportunities
to commit crimes, which are usually called cybercrimes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (2001)
defines Internet fraud as any scheme that is fraudulent and used for deceit with the use of the Internet,
such as web sites, chat rooms, and e-mail. The internet assists the perpetrators of cybercrime to play a
very possessive role, they offer non-existent goods or services to consumers, or transfer victims fund to
their personal accounts.

Alubo (2011) believes the internet launched a platform for cybercriminals to engage in advance-fee-
fraud by sending spam e-mails; he calls this act “419”, and those involved are regarded as yahoo boys in
Nigeria. They usually create several free e-mail accounts to gain access to their potential victims (Dyrud
2005). Adomi and Igun (2008) poses that this act has been made possible because of the presence of e-
mail extractors. It has become a common trend to buy email addresses 18

and followers on social media. This also makes it easy for cybercriminals to perpetrate crime. Yang et
al., (2010), said that 6Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are present in every country
around the globe which has made digitization trending and it keeps expanding.

6 ICT means Information Communication Technology

Ponzi scheme can also be related to internet fraud; these schemes have become so popular in developing
countries especially in Nigeria. Founders of this scheme, launch website and then come up with enticing
programs to make people register and participate in the program. The people that benefit from this
scheme are the early members after a while the scheme folds up. Ponzi scheme is related to internet
fraud because they make use of website. Members also gain access to this scheme through the internet.
Ponzi scheme originated from network marketing which is believed to be a legal business. Some
individuals decided to come up with something similar and rip people off. Many have already lost
interest in several Ponzi schemes, it’s no doubt that very soon another means of exploiting certain
individuals will be created again (Drew and Moore, 2014).

2.13. IMPACT OF INTERNET FRAUD ON THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY

Cybercrime is both common to both developed and developing countries. It appears to be worse in
developing countries where technology and law enforcement expertise is inadequate (Boateng et al.,
2010). According to the 2007 Internet Crime Report prepared by the National White-Collar Crime and
the FBI, Nigeria currently ranks third in the world with 5.7 per cent of perpetrators of cybercrime (2007
Internet Crime Report). Though the perpetrator percentage of 5.7 from Nigeria appears low, it is rather
high considering that less than 10 percent of the 150 million population of Nigeria uses the internet
(Delta State University Report). The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White-Collar Crime Center (NW3C) (Finklea
2012). According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (2010), in 2010, the IC3 received 303 809
complaints about internet crime, of these, over 50% were connected to schemes the yahoo boys employ,
such as advance fee fraud, non-delivery payment/merchandise, auction fraud, and credit card fraud (ibid.
p.9). The top three countries perpetrators originated from US (65,9%), UK (10,4%) and Nigeria (5,8%)
(ibid.). In Africa, though internet use is higher in South Africa, cybercrime perpetrators percentage is
higher for Nigeria than South Africa as it is mentioned in the report. 33

Cybercrime has a negative impact on Nigeria. It can be explained in the terms of the following statistics:
Annual global loss of %1.5 billion in 2002; 6% of global internet spam in 2004; 15.5% of total reported
FBI fraud in 2001; Highest median loss of all FBI internet fraud of $5,575; VeriSign, Inc., ranked
Nigeria 3rd in total number of Interne fraud transactions, accounting for 4.81% of global internet fraud;
American National Fraud Information Centre reported Nigerian money offers as the fastest growing
money online scam, up 900% in 2001; Nigerian ISPs and email providers are already being black-listed
in email blocking blacklist systems across the internet; Some companies are blocking entire internet
network segment and traffic originate from Nigeria; Newer and more sophisticated technologies are
emerging that will make it easier to discriminate and isolate Nigerian email traffic; Key national
infrastructure and information security assets are likely to be damaged by hostile and fraudulent
unauthorized use (See, Chawki 2009).

Accordingly, cybercrime has created a nightmare image for Nigeria. When one comes across phrases
like ‘Nigerian scam’, the assumption that crosses one’s mind is that all (or conservatively most) scam e-
mails originate from Nigerian or Nigerians- though this is not the case (Adomi, 2008:720). Advance fee
fraud has brought disrepute to Nigeria from all over the world; essentially, Nigerians are treated with
suspicion in business dealings and most Nigerians suffer as a result (Adomi, 2008:720). Also. The
flourishing synergy between organized crimes and the internet (McCusker, 2006) has increased the
insecurity of the digital world. According to, the market research firm, International Data Cooperation
(IDC), 39% of fortune 500 companies suffered a security breach in 2003 and 40% of global IT managers
have rated security as their number one priority. Hackers have attacked computer networks of the
Pentagon and the White House, NATO’s military websites and have stolen secret codes of Microsoft
and credit card numbers from several U.S. banks (Kshetri, 2005). Cybercrime and cyberterrorism have
become the FBI’s No. 3 priority-behind counterterrorism and counterintelligence (Kshetri, 2005).
Furthermore, Nigeria as a country has been adjudged as corrupt. Many people have already tagged
Nigeria a “financial terrorists” nation, due to financial crimes that emanating from Nigeria (Ribadu,
2006). Not only financial crimes but other cyber-related crimes emanating from Nigeria (Adomi, 2007).
34

2.14. CONCLUSION
Carefully thought out and planned crime shakes the foundation of democracy which leads to bad
governance without rule (Sieber, 2000 ;). In Nigerian, the quest for material possessions has been
identified in literatures as core component influencing youths to innovate illegal ways of achieving
success, without following the laid-down societal approved means to achieve success. Cybercrime
originated from greed- it is the insatiable quest to achieve what is beyond one’s capabilities, luxuries-
exotic cars, smart phones, club membership and possessing a bevy of ladies. This has become a measure
of class among youths in Nigeria. Yahoo boys thirst for an array of needs which leads to constant hunger
to defraud victims of more money. There is also a culture of flaunting this wealth acquired illicitly on
various social media platforms of the society as accomplished individuals. However, to most
cybercriminals in Ghana, cybercrime is a vengeance mission against years of colonial exploitation that
has impoverished Africa. 35

CHAPTER THREE

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

3.1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter seeks to provide sound theoretical platform to contextualize the entire study within the lens
of scholarly debate. With attention on the aim, objectives and nature of the research, Robert Merton
Strain Theory and Rational Choice Theory are drawn upon to provide theoretical basis for this study.

Strain and Rational choice theories view delinquency as a product of individual agency, following a
process of conscious thoughts and decision. These theories therefore bring on board rich scholarly
arguments to examine youth attitudinal patterns and predisposing factors to deviance within societies.
These theoretical perspectives examine delinquency among youth from an individual as well as a
societal point of view.

3.2. RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

The diversity in the explanations offered in7Rational choice theory (RCT) have made this theoretical
perspective to be used in different disciplines such as economics, sociology, political science, and
criminology and sometimes within different contexts (McShane, 2013). RCT assumes a practical
certainty that man is a cognitive player whose calculation of costs and benefits in any given situation,
helps in making rational choices. However, the study adopting the intentional, conscious and calculative
tenets of the theory to the understanding of cybercrime implies that yahoo-yahoo is a choice behavior in
which individuals make a conscious decision of risk, cost and advantage to meet the commonplace
needs for things such as money, status, sex, excitement (Cornish and Clarke, 2014). According to
Cornish and Clarke (2008), RCT is grounded on numerous assumptions but most specifically is the
individualistic nature of man. The individual committing the crime understands himself/herself as an
individual, the second assumptions is that

7 RCT- refers to Rational Choice Theory 36

individuals have targets in their agendas and missions, and the last assumptions is that individuals are
self-interested (Matsueda, Kreager, and Huizinga, 2006). Hence, individuals committing crime think
about themselves and how to advance in their enterprise to maximize profit.

Fundamental arguments of the rational choice theory as pronounced by Gul (2009) explains that:
 The human being is a rational player.

 Rationality involves end/means calculations.

 People (freely) choose behavior, both conforming and deviant, based on their rational calculations.

 The central element of calculation involves a cost benefit analysis: Pleasure versus pain or hedonistic
calculus.

 Choice, with all other conditions equal, will be directed towards the maximization of individual
pleasure.

 Choice can be controlled through the perception and understanding of the potential pain or
punishment that will follow an act judged to be in violation of the social good, the social contract.

 The state is responsible for maintaining order and preserving the common good through a system of
laws

 The swiftness, severity, and certainty of punishment are the key elements in understanding a law’s
ability to control human behavior.

Early theories of crime, viewed the individual to have free will, and can guide his own destiny (Cornish
and Clarke, 2008). These assumptions of free will and rationality have remained central to the field of
criminology since its beginnings, and are direct precursors of the modern Rational Choice Theory. The
application of RCT to criminology has been an influential approach, being particularly popular during
the 1980s and 1990s when much work was undertaken to examine how rational decisions are made, and
if this could be applied to criminal behavior in individuals (See, Akers, 2013). Early iterations of the
approach stated that potential offenders would avoid offending for fear of potential punishment. The
assumption is that individuals act under free will, and in 37

doing so will seek to avoid costs, and that the rewards of an action or behavior will be weighed against
those costs (Akers 2013).

As an approach used by social scientists to understand human behavior, this approach has long been the
dominant paradigm in economics, but in recent decades it has become more widely used in other
disciplines such as Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology, and Criminology (Kroneberg and Kalter,
2012). RCT takes the position that offenders are not compelled to commit crime because of some
extraordinary motivation; Offenders do not have different personalities than nonoffenders; neither were
they socialized into a criminal belief or cultural system whose norms require crime (Cornish and Clarke,
2014). Conformists and nonconformists willingly choose their own behaviors, and both choose those
behaviors based on a rational consideration of the costs and benefits of the intended action. The rational
choice offender, is rational and self-interested and chooses to commit crime because of his assessment
that it will be rewarding or profitable or satisfy some need better than a noncriminal behavior.

However, this approach has been criticized on the assumption of the normative and autonomous status
ascribed to the individual in decision making. Cornish and Clarke (2014) suggest that individuals are
unlikely to go through such a deliberate, calculating mental process and 'intuit' the values and costs of an
action, being unable to process information to the level assumed by this normative model. Instead,
offenders operate under a 'bounded rationality' in which offenders are making a weighted decision, but
in a more 'rudimentary and cursory way' than advocated by the classical economic approach to decision
making. It is also recognized that while an individual can make a measured decision based on expected
utility of various outcomes, their range of actions may be limited by circumstances (Cornish and Clarke,
2014).

Dowding (2010), opined that RCT revolves around an individual’s decision to commit a crime based on
cost – benefit proportion. Rationality means that an individual balances cost and benefit to arrive at
action that maximizes personal benefit. Cyber offenders commit a crime after weighing the prospective
rewards against the potential risk. The unique thing about yahoo-yahoo is that, the internet allows the
offender to exploit victims from a relatively distanced location. However, the offence inflicts the same
type of fear and harassment as in the case of victims who are in direct 38

face-to-face situation with cyber stalkers. Cyber criminals are very talented and well educated, not
necessarily in formal manner but they have an ability to think rationally, Cornish and Clarke (2008)
further explained that criminals attack the victims whom they believe would give them the greatest
amount of financial gain with least chance of getting caught and the high-tech cybercriminals are hardly
caught because of the skill to cover their tracks and move through proxy servers so that they are
undetected. They commit large fraudulent schemes and remain undetected.

RCT’s approach to cybercrime is self-possessive and centered around the offending individuals’ rational
thought. Cybercrime behavior is the result of evil thought and planning, to choose cybercrime after
seeing their personal deprivation for money, need for revenge, thrills, entertainment- and situational
factors (Siegel, 2008). According to Siegel (2008), burglars choose targets based on their value,
freshness and resale potential. These thieves will also specifically choose locations which are close to
where they live in order to make a quick escape and to assure they know the area; this is a fine example
of how premeditated crimes are products of rational decision making.

The rational choice theory states that criminals possess certain characteristics that help calculate the
potential success of committing crime; select their targets based on risk assessment; and will choose not
to commit a crime if the disadvantages, such as getting caught and punished, outweigh the benefits, such
as making a lot of money (Siegel, 2008). However, despite the efforts to punish cybercrime criminals, to
serve as deterrence for others, there is no convincing evidence that the fear of apprehension and
punishment has ameliorated the unabated surge of the menace in Nigeria (Well, 2010). The Nigerian
society provides every avenue to reduce the escalating rate of cybercrime in the country- an example is
the exploit of 8EFCC in apprehending internet fraudsters. Obviously, opportunity for cybercrime to exist
are due to many factors inherent in Nigeria’s economic environment, so also is the prevalence of
corruption ridden practices.

8 The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that
investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering.

The auxiliary precipitator is immovably situated in the present economy emergency influencing most
youth associated with cybercrime (Simpson, 2000). The mix of precipitators can be 39

connected to Nigeria's financial condition which comprises of inconceivable monetary vulnerabilities in

the virtual vanishing of survivable atmosphere for clear larger part of Nigerians on one hand and on
another hand the rising practices of corruption among Nigerian political office holders (Jegede and
Olowookere, 2014).
Essentially, the environment likewise incorporates human ways of life, intentions, needs and attractable
inducers pushing objective interest and accomplishments inside which criminal indulgent in this setting
turns into an acceptable option (Jegede, 2014). This is evident in the gradual acceptance of deviating
acts such as yahoo-yahoo as an alternative to making ends meet within the country. Utilizing 'one's head'
to get one's objective accomplished goals turns into the obligation of a normal Nigerian. This does not
prohibit the utilization of all shades of unlawful techniques to get what is relevant to the survival of
people. The abated surge in the promotion of alternative deviant routes to the accomplishment of success
is disturbing and detrimental to the nation (Jegede and Olowookere, 2014; Jegede, 2014). In such
manner, "young people are frequently at a cross road on whether to keep on hoping for a better future
yet being gone up against with financial difficulties intrinsic in Nigeria's awful administration and
society brimming with debasement.

Moreover, this expected activity of cybercrime offenders recommends that, choice to carry out
cybercrime include normal, definite arranging and basic decision intended to defraud potential victims.
Choices to get occupation in cybercrime as a contrasting option to normative occupations within
societies are products of a dilapidated socio-economic structure characterized by hunger and want (Well,
2010). Taking part in cybercrime from the domain of this theory is a result of leaving on decision that is
consciously and rationally arrived as more beneficial and less likely to produce negative outcomes
because of the secrecy provided by the internet.

In any case, involving in cybercrime within the current standard of degenerate corrupt practices that
characterizes the Nigerian political sphere and an appalling socio-economic condition are 40

young adults who have sot solace in the opportunities provided in the internet to seek solace to poverty.
In addition, impacts of activities of youth in cybercrime have on worldwide adverse financial impact and
it has negatively tainted the image of Nigeria within the committee of nations (Vatshla, 2014).

RCT usually starts with consideration of the choice behavior of one or more individual decision-making.
The rational choice theorists often presume that the individual decision-making part in question is
typical or representative of larger group such as buyers and sellers in a market or society as in this case.
Once individual behavior is established, the analysis generally moves on to examine how individual
choices interact to produce outcomes. The main creation of the rational choice theory was to aide and
give focus to situational cybercrime prevention (Siegel, 2008). Situational cybercrime prevention
contains opportunity to directly reduce youths from specific forms of cybercrime, management of the
immediate environment systematically and permanently to makes cybercrime more difficult, risky and
less rewarding in a wide range for youths (Wall, 2007).

3.3. ROBERT MERTON STRAIN THEORY

Merton strain theory is built on Emile Durkheim theorization of Anomie. Robert Merton developed
Strain theory to explain individual’s varying patterns of deviation resulting from gaps within societies
(Spiegel, 2006). Merton opined that normative breakdown and other deviant behaviors within societies
are products of disjoints between culturally approved expectations or goals and socially structured or
legitimized avenues to achieve success (Murphy and Robison, 2008). According to Merton the structural
imbalance between goal and approved means explains nonconformist behaviors not only at societal
levels but also at individual levels (Spiegel, 2006). Marwah and Deflem (2006) noted that after Merton
explained anomie in relation to peculiar groups in the cultural structure of the United States, he further
analyzed, how individuals adjust to the patterns of goals and means in one of the five different ways and
this structure by Merton is generally referred to as adjustment patterns to anomic conditions.
Spiegel (2006), opines that the gap between approved goals and the means creates strain. In
contemporary society, success is primarily measured in terms of material achievements and social 41

standing. In a mixed shape of economy such as Nigeria, individuals must choose their own path and
work hard to earn a living. This leads to competitive nature of careers and employment. Merton used
anomie theory, applied specifically to deviant behavior in the American society and this could be
inferred in other societies. Strain theory proposes that those individuals, who are underprivileged within
societies, may end up taking honest and socially acceptable path to meet financial success and yet not
end up as successful, as those who are not in the same social strata, however, this type of phenomenon
would make them question why they should take societally approved path to success when they could be
more successful through deviant behavior (Spiegel, 2006).

Merton explained further that normative breakdown and other deviant behaviors within societies are
products of disjoints between culturally approved expectations or goals and socially structured or
legitimized avenues to achieve success (Marwah and Deflem, 2006). According to Merton the structural
gap or imbalance between goal and approved means explains nonconformist behaviors not only at
societal levels but also at individual levels. Spiegel (2006) noted that after Merton explained anomie in
relation to peculiar groups in the cultural structure of the United States, he further analyzed how
individuals adjust to the patterns of goals and means in one of five different ways. This structure by
Merton is generally referred to as adjustment patterns to anomic conditions.

In a balanced society, an equal emphasis is placed upon both cultural goals and institutionalized means,
and members of such societies are satisfied with both. But in an unbalanced society such as America, as
well as Nigeria today, great importance is attached to the success goals while relatively little importance
is attached to the accepted ways of achieving these goals (Haralambos, Holborn, and Herald, 2008). The
situation now becomes like a game of cards in which winning becomes so important that the rules are
abandoned by some of the players. By the same token, when rules cease to operate, a situation of
normlessness or anomie results. In this situation of “anything goes”, norms no longer direct behavior and
deviance is encouraged. However, individuals will respond to a situation of anomie in five different
ways and their response pattern will be shaped by their position in the social structure according to
Merton. 42

3.3.1 A Typology of Modes of Individual Adaptation

Modes of Adaptation Cultural Goals Institutionalized Means

1. Conformity + +

2. Innovation + -

3. Ritualism - +

4. Retreatism - -

5. Rebellion +/- +/-

Conformity: This is the response shown by members of society in which members accept both the
success goals and the normative means of reaching them. To Merton, conformity is the most common
adaptation to anomie and it forms the basis for stability and order in society. Members are conformists
and law-abiding citizens, who strive for success by means of accepted channels.

Innovation: This is the second response shown by members of society in which members accept the
success goals but reject the legitimate means of achieving them and turns to deviant means crime.
Merton argues that members of society that are most likely to select this route to success include: people
with low social strata, people with low educational qualifications, and people whose jobs have little
opportunity for advancement. In Merton’s words, they have “little access to the legitimate and
conventional means for becoming successful”. Since their way is blocked, they innovate turning to
crime, which promises greater rewards than legitimate means.

Ritualism: This is the third possible response in which members of society accepts the normative means
but reject the success goals. Ritualists are deviants because they reject the success goals held my
members of society. Members of this group include the religious fanatics, who believe treasures are in
heaven rather than on earth, herbalist, priest etc.

Retreatism: This is the fourth and the least common response in which members of society reject both
the success goals and legitimate means with total resignation to their failure. Retreatism subculture is
socially and culturally detached from the lifestyle and everyday pre-occupations of the conventional
world. The extensive use of drugs for fun and pleasure is encouraged and 43

expected within the subculture. Members include psychotics, autists, vagabond, tramps, chronic
drunkards, outcast, drug addicts.

Rebellion: This is the fifth and final response in which members of society reject both the success goals
and institutionalized means but vow to establish a new social order (replace with different goals and
means). These are practically members of the rising class called Rebels (Haralambos, Holborn, and
Herald, 2008).

Hence, cyber perpetrators (yahoo-yahoo boys) in this context can be classified as innovationist. By
accepting societal institutionalized goal to attain success they have rejected the means or considered the
route approved by society as strenuous and therefore in the bid to fast track success innovated a new
route to societal goal of wealth and achievement which is yahoo-yahoo (cybercrime). However, Merton
explained “innovation” as a process where members of a society accept success goals but reject the
legitimate means of achieving them. Merton argues that members of society that are most likely to select
this route to success include: people with low social strata, people with low educational qualifications,
and people whose jobs have little opportunity for advancement. In Merton’s words, they have “little
access to the legitimate and conventional means for becoming successful” (Merton, 1938:86). Since
their way is blocked, they innovate turning to crime, which promises greater rewards than legitimate
means.

Conclusively, Merton’s explanation is that people can result to deviance in a bid to attain societally
approved goals. Strain theory is important in explaining yahoo-yahoo phenomenon in Nigeria as several
authors have argued that societal gaps such as unemployment, poverty and the desire to be wealthy are
important factors that drive youths to adopt deviating means to attaining success (Hassan, Lass and
Makinde, 2012; Adomi and Igun, 2008).

3.4. CONCLUSION
Giddens (1991) opines that, youth may see how they put a lot of hard work into their studies and
development of skills and yet realize that it is unlikely that they could achieve the financial success they
so desire. Moreover, they may see crime as an avenue to achieve huge financial wealth. Many 44

Cybercrime is an emerging trend that is gradually growing as the internet continues to penetrate every
sector of our society and the future is yet unknown. Cybercrime may be divided into two categories [18]:

1. Crimes that affects computer networks and devices directly. Examples are malicious code, computing
viruses, malware etc.

2. Crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices, the primary target of which is independent of the
computer networks or device. Examples include Advance fee fraud such as Yahoo, Money theft through
the ATM, SMS requesting you to provide bank details as BVN. International Journal of Engineering
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1.2 Causes of Cybercrimes in Nigeria

The following are some of the few newly identified causes of cybercrimes [2][30].

1. Unemployment is one of the major causes of Cybercrime in Nigeria. It is a known fact that over 40
million graduates in the country do not have gainful employment. This has automatically increased the
rate at which they take part in criminal activities as a means for their daily survival [30].

2. Quest for Wealth is another cause of cybercrime in Nigeria. Youths of nowadays are very greedy,
they are not ready to start small hence they strive to meet up with their rich counterparts by engaging in
criminal activities such as cybercrimes [30].

3. Lack of strong Cyber Crime Laws also encourages the perpetrators to commit more crime. Thus, there
is need for our government to come up with stronger laws and be able to enforce such laws so that
criminals will not go unrewarded [14].

4. Incompetent or unskillful security on personal computers (PC). Some personal computers do not have
proper or competent security controls, which is prone to criminal activities hence the information on it
can be stolen or exchanged, unnoticed easily.

5. Marriage: most of the youth get married with the intension that with time they will eventually secure a
gainful employment after a period of time all of which never happened. Thus, Life becomes difficult for
them to take care of their families leaving them with the temptation or no option than to end up in cyber
related crime as a source of their livelihood.

5. Age: It’s observed from our research study using our fact finding Questioners that age significantly
has an influence on an average youth in their involvement in cybercrime.

1.3 Various Cybercrimes in Nigeria

For Several decades, the internets have experienced an increase growth with the number of hosts
connected to the internet increasing daily at a higher rate. As the internet grows to become more
accessible and more facilities become reliant on it for their daily operation, likewise the rise in
cybercrime. In Nigeria, cybercrime has become one of the main avenues for stealing of money and
business spying. According to Check Point, a global network cyber security vendor, as of 2016, Nigeria
is ranked 16th highest country in cyber-attacks vulnerabilities in Africa [4]. Nigerians are known both
home and abroad to be rampant perpetuators of cybercrimes. The number of Nigerians caught for
duplicitous activities carried by broadcasting stations is much more in comparison to other citizens of
different countries. Recently the United States of America (US) apprehended 6 Nigerians (18/06/2020)
in the US for cyber related crime as published by the Nigerian new publishers. The contribution of the
internet to the development of Nigeria has had a positive impact on various sectors of the country.
However, these sectors such as the banking, e-commerce and education sector battles with the effect of
cybercrimes. More cybercrimes are arising at an alarming rate with each subsequent crime more
advanced than its previous ones [11] [22].

1.4 Banking Sector

The life wire of the banking sector is the internet. Presently, banks all over the world are taking
advantage and incorporating opportunities brought about by Electronic banking (e-banking) which is
believed to have started in the early 1980’s [5]. As the security level in this sector becomes stronger, the
strength and tactics of these fraudsters increases also. Various threat attacks have been explored in
which, many of them are successful. Generally, cybercriminals carry out fraudulent activities with the
ultimate goal of accessing a user’s bank account to either steal/transfer funds to another bank account
without rightful authorization. However, in some rare cases in Nigeria, the intention of cyber-criminals
is to cause damage to the reputation of the bank by denying service to users [6] and sabotaging data in
computer networks of organizations.

1.5 Bank Verification Number (BVN) Scams: The BVN is a biometric identification system which
consists of an 11-digit number that acts as a universal ID across all the banks in Nigeria. BVN was
implemented in 2015 by the Central Bank of Nigeria. It was introduced to link various accounts to the
owner thereby ensuring that fraudulent activities are minimized. For fraudsters, opportunities to extort
money and to carry out other fraudulent activities arose from the implementation of the BVN. It was
detected that fake and unauthorized text messages and phone calls were sent to various users demanding
for personal information such as their account details. In addition, phishing sites were created to acquire
such information for unhealthy activities on the bank account of individuals.

1.6 Phishing

Phishing is a theft of identity. It involves stealing personal information from unsuspecting users and it is
also an act of fraud against the authentic, authorized businesses and financial institutions that are
victimized [21][27]. In Phishing mail messages, the fraudsters’ tries to find a way to convince and gain
the trust of users. Phishing mails are mostly carried out on bank customers either through mail, text
Messages or phone call requesting individual bank information for the purpose of criminal activity. In
some cases social media platforms like what-Sapp, Facebook, etc are used to initiate communication just
to establish trust and confidence, there by exploiting individuals for the said motive subsequently [21].

1.6.1 Cyber-theft / Banking Fraud

Hackers target the vulnerability-ties in the security of various bank systems and transfer money from
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uncountable accounts to theirs. Most cyber-criminals transfer little amounts like 5 naira which are
sometimes overlooked by the user without questions raised by the users who assumes this was deducted
for either SMS or ATM withdrawal charges. Doing this for over a million accounts enriches most
fraudsters usually treated as legitimates deductions unknown.

1.6.2 Sales Fraud & Forgery

In our society today, fraudulent sales of products that do not exist or that are imitations are increasingly
common. The purchase of an item before actually seeing it has created ways for fraudsters to make
money via the sale of fake products or in some cases, the total absence of the product. Many persons
have fallen victim of this particular crime on popular E-commerce websites, where the hackers’ makes
used of a cloned websites to perpetrates there crimes.

1.6.3 Education Sector and Cybercrime

The educational sector in Nigeria suffers greatly from electronic crimes which are perpetuated mostly by
students in tertiary institutions (Universities, Polytechnic and monotechnic and others).

1.6.4 Cyber-Plagiarism

Information housed on the internet has made an effective alteration on the methods in which people
educate themselves. The term ‘Copy and Paste’ is the most common phrase used when referring to
cyber-plagiarism. Cyber-plagiarism can be defined as copying and pasting online sources into word
processing documents without reference to the original writer /owner. In the educational sector in
Nigeria, students, particularly those in the tertiary institutions carry out this crime without enforcing the
due penalty.

1.6.5 Pornography

Cyber-pornography is the act of using cyberspace to create, display, distribute, import, or publish
pornography or obscene materials, especially materials de-picting children engaged in sexual acts with
adults or adults as well. Cyber-pornography is a criminal offense, classified as causing harm to persons,
especially the youth and the entire societal moral decadence as well.

1.6.6 Bank Cards Theft

The theft of bank cards has evolved from the physical theft of the card to simply the theft of the
numbers. Today, bank card hackers do not need to be in the same country to steal other people’s
identities. Fraudsters make use of hidden cameras to record ATM card pins and numbers in distinct
places such as an eatery payment using POS, or at the ATM. According to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), a method known as ATM skimming can be used and it involves placing an
electronic device on an ATM that scoops information from a bank card’s magnetic strip whenever a
customer uses the machine (FBI, 2011).

Also, another cybercrime carried out via this means in Nigeria includes internet order fraud. Internet
order frauds involves fraudster inputting stolen cards numbers on online platforms in order to access
money illegally.

1.6.8 Cybercrimes on Social Media

In Nigeria, Social networks have gained a very high ground in every sector. The banking industry,
government, business, universities use this platform to promote and communicate with each other.
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram serve as a fertile ground for
cybercriminals to launch new attacks. Users create semi-public profiles and can directly communicate
with friends without restriction [7].

1.6.9 Charity Funds

Fraudulent people host fake social network pages for charity soliciting for money. In most cases, these
fake social pages are backed up with pictures showcasing various illnesses. Many kind hearted people
donate to this cause thereby increasing the pockets of cyber criminals unknown.

1.7 Stalking, harassment and Blackmailing Scam

This are threatening and blackmailing acts carried out on the internet by fraudsters on a victim. In most
cases, the perpetuator’s identity is unknown by the use of a false alias or by blocking the identity by
keeping all information hidden while relating with the said victims.

1.7.2 Personal Social Site-Hijacking

This is a major crime all over the world. Many social networking pages have been hijacked by hackers
who demands money in turn for releasing the personal social page. This has occurred in sites like
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These fraudsters go as far as sending messages from the authorized
page to friends and family requesting for money or any other kind of assistance. Also, another common
scenario also occurs when the fraudster creates a social page pretending to be someone else especially
celebrities [8].

II. WAYS TO DETECT CYBERCRIMES

The following are some of the ways by which cybercrimes can be detected

2.1 Email inspection: inspecting your mails before opening is a very useful way of detecting unusual or
strange activities. Email spamming and cyber stalking can be detected by carefully investigating the
email header which contains the real email address, the internet protocol address of the sender as well as
the date and time it was sent. While this may not be the International Journal of Engineering Applied
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only trick, a genuine address should contain https. any address with no s attached to the http is likely
The s stands for protected (secured); otherwise
to be cybercriminal sites and should be treated as
such.
2.2 Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
This is applicable for more serious attacks like
breaking into a bank network to steal customer’s
sensitive data which cannot be discovered by mere
inspection or reviewing. Intrusion detection
techniques such as Honey pots, Tripwires,
Anomaly detection systems, Operating system
commands and Con-figuration checking tools are
always employed. Another well-known system is
Snort; it is a robust open source tool which exists
for monitoring different network attacks [9]. It
was first developed in 1998 and gradually evolved
into a mature software and even better than many
commercial IDS. The system employs the rules
established by the administrator to monitor traffic
and detect strange behaviors.
2.3 Measures to Prevent Cybercrime
Cybercrime cannot be easily and completely
wiped out, but can be reduced. However,
collaborative efforts of individuals alongside with
government intervention could go a long way to
reduce or minimize it to a reasonable level.
Measures to take can be categorized into two [3]:
1. Governments intervention: Although the
country has found herself in great mess by the
inability of the government to provide basic
necessary amenities such as jobs, security and the
likes for her citizens which indirectly has led to
high rate in cybercrime, there is still need for the
nation to come up with adequate laws to tackle
this issue. These laws should be formulated by the
government and should strictly be adhered to [20]
[23]. However, a bill was passed in the year 2015
that would protect and punish electronic fraud and
other cyber related crimes. The full
implementation of this bill will hopefully bring a
strategic approach to fight against cybercrime.
Some of the bills are highlighted below: There
will be seven years jail term for offenders of
different types of computer related fraud,
computer related forgery, cyber-pornography,
cyber-stalking and cyber-squatting.
Defines the liability of service providers and
ensures that the use of electronic communications
does not compromise national interest. It provides
a legal framework to punish cyber criminals
thereby improving electronic communication. It
specifies all criminal acts and provides guidelines
for the investigation of such offences. If these
laws are effectively enforced, cybercriminals will
be deterred and penalized. This will indirectly
reduce the incident of cybercrimes rates, and
increase customers.
confidence while transacting business online and
also correct the negative impression about Nigeria
and the citizens.
2. Individuals on their part should ensure proper
security controls and make sure they install the
latest security up-dates on their computer systems.
In addition, they should observe the following [1]:
(i.) Carefully select the sites you visit. (ii.) Do not
visit an untrusted site. (iii.) Avoid visiting a site
by clicking on a link you find in your email, found
on a Facebook page, or on an
Advertisement.
(iv.) Avoid pirated software and never disclose
your Personal Identification Number (PIN), bank
account and email access code to unknown
persons.
(v.) Always ignore any e-mail requiring your
financial information. Do not send sensitive
information in an email since its security cannot
be guaranteed.
(vi.) Use strong passwords that are difficult to
guess and employ a combination of characters
(upper case and lower-case letters), numbers and
symbols.
(vii.) Avoid inputting your information in a pop-
up. If you have interest in any offer you see on a
pop up, it is always safer to go directly to the
website of the retailer.
2.4 Analyses of Cybercrimes
The aim of this analysis is to evaluate the level of
involvement of students in cybercrime and to
determine their vulnerability in such crimes. This
study adopts various research questions carried
out among students in selected tertiary institutions
in Sokoto-state. The research questions were
distributed in the Usmanu Danfodiyo University,
Sokoto, Sokoto State (UDUS) and some selected
student areas within the sokoto state metropolis;
however, our study covers a total of 50 students
Questionnaire with an average age range between
15 to 31 years above. The prestigious Usmanu
Danfodiyo University been the oldest and the
most populated tertiary institution within the
sokoto state metropolis was our key focus in this
study, The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions
that cuts across all aspects of cybercrime in
Nigeria especially within campuses. Each
question has an option which could be precisely
seen below in the appendix: From the options
below, each student were to select one for every
question given, except for Questions 7 and 14
where a student is allowed to select more than 1
option(s).

III. RELATED LITERATURES

This section presents a review of related

literatures.

In [12], Cybercrimes Investigation and Intrusion

Detection in Internet of Things According to Data
Science Methods were propose to investigate and
detect different type of attacks and invasion. This
research introduces a principle of Digital
Forensics, Intrusion Detection and Internet of
Things as well as exploring data science concepts
and methods that can help the digital investigators
and security professionals to develop a data
science techniques and methods that can be
adapted to a unique context of Internet of
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Sciences and Technology, 2020 Vol. 5, Issue 4,
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Online August 2020 in IJEAST
(http://www.ijeast.com)

112
Things environment for performing intrusion detection and digital investigation process in
forensically sound and timely fashion manner.

In [13], Cybercrime Escalation Vs. solutions: a Literature Snapshot was propose to alert the
society to claim attention in national capitals and dedicated legislation on cybercrime to
supplement the Indian Penal Code. This research introduces an analytical approach from
emergence of cybercrime to prevention strategies used for cybercrime. The study throws light on
status of cybercrime in current scenario and presents available solutions including steps taken by
non-government and government organizations to avoid cybercrime and forthcoming challenges

as well as measures on both the National, International agreement and solutions to deal with
these same problems.

In [15], A Spiritual Dimension To Cybercrime in Nigeria: The ‘yahoo Plus’ Phenomenon

propose that Cybercrime in Nigeria is largely perpetrated by young people and students in
tertiary institutions, usually called the yahoo boys. They depend on their computer facility to
victimize unsuspected persons in cyberspace. Another new phenomenon in cybercrime is mixing
of spiritual elements with internet surfing to boost cybercrime success rates. In [16],
incorporating the Human Element in Anticipatory and Dynamic Cyber Defense was proposed to
identify five main study areas that requires quick response. Using a criminological framework
and empirical evidence of observations as well as interviews done at Industrial Control Systems
Computer

Emergency Response Team’s (ICS-CERT) Red/Blue. The study offers recommendations for
further research and the relevance of multidisciplinary collaboration. In [17], WhatsApp
Network Forensics: Discovering the Communication Payloads behind Cybercriminals was
propose to to examine cybercriminals through network forensics and sniffing Techniques. The
findings can support LEAs in discovering criminal communication payloads and facilitating the
effectiveness of modern call record analysis.

Nigeria. In [19], Analysing Issues of Cyber Threats in Nigeria was propose to examines the
pattern of cyber threats and information security in line with the Nigerian approach to meeting
these challenges in the 21st century. The results of the analysis from the Questionnaire
administered revealed the major group of the public that are largely active in committing
cybercrime.

In [25], The Legal Aspects of Cybercrime in Nigeria: An Analysis with the UK Provisions was
propose to provide insight into contemporary global cybercrime legislations and the shortfalls to
their procedural enforcement. Analysize and present a critique to the provisions as provided in
the recently enacted Nigerian Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2015, in
contradistinction to the existing legal framework in the United Kingdom and the other regional
enactments like the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, African Union Convention on
Cyber security and Personal Data Protection 2014, as well as the ECOWAS Directive on
Cybercrime.

2. Related Works

Internet crime refers to criminal activities that specifically target a computer or network

for demolition or infiltration. For instance, unauthorized access or distribution of viruses

into systems or networks. Internet crime also includes the use of computers as tools to

conduct criminal activity such as financial fraud, identity theft, phishing, infant

exploitation and copyright violations. The Internet significantly increased the criminal’s

power and reach in perpetrating such crimes (Powner, 2007).

Observers are warning that developing countries are fast becoming a major source

of Internet crimes. For instance, Nigeria is ranked first in the African region as the

target and origin of malicious cyber activities; and this is spreading across the West

African sub-region (Ribadu, 2007). Egypt is also known to be one of the most phished

countries in the world with approximately 2000 phishing incidents, followed by other

nations in the region such as South Africa (Ojedokun, 2005), and recently Ghana.

There remains a lack of consensus over the forms of computer misuse that should

attract a criminal sanction, as opposed to a civil remedy such as those attaching to

Cybercrimes and the Nigerian Academic Institution Networks 49

AUTHOR’S COPY

intellectual property and commercial laws. Certainly, some of the cybercrimes listed

here do not fall properly within the province of the criminal law (Bronitt and Gani,

2003). Cybercrimes originating in America often implicate national boundaries; plenty

of these cases fall under federal laws. National collaboration with local law enforcement

and prosecutors to share information and efforts through cooperation has proved efficient

in curbing traditional crimes (Hinduja, 2007).

Cybercrimes are demanding law enforcement departments in general and forensic

investigators in particular to channelize an increasing amount of their energy toward

successfully detecting, arresting and helping in the successful prosecution of the

criminals. Meanwhile, national boundaries effectively disappear for many Internet

crimes and the jurisdiction of the crime is another complex problem. Even though

a complete study of jurisdictional problems is beyond the scope of this research, it is

worthy of notice that nations differ in civil and criminal offense principles, substantive

and procedural law, information gathering and storage, and other evidentiary and

juridical factors (Lyman, 2002).

The cyberspace currently looks like a safe haven for criminals who have basically

moved away from the streets to an electronic platform offered by the world wide

web. Different countries have implored different methods to contend with

cybercrimes depending on their types and degree. Definitely, a nation with high

incidence of crime cannot develop, as crime is the direct reverse of development.

It leaves some undesirable social and economic aftermaths (Sylvester, 2001).

In Nigeria, so many measures are now being undertaken to curb cyber crimes—

the most popular one being the controlling of world wide web access points (Longe

and Chiemeke, 2008).

3. Cyber Criminality and National Boundaries

The globalization phenomenon is gradually creating immense opportunities for

academia, tourists, and business people, and at the same time increasing economic

growth and development. Still, criminals who engage in human trafficking and drug
deal, weapon smuggling, fraud, counterfeiting, and other financial crimes are taking

advantage of opening up of societies and borders by the cyberspace.

Cybercrime knows no boundaries, yet the criminal law remains deeply protective

in nature. This paradoxical pressure connecting the geographically bounded nature

of criminal law and the trans-border superiority of cyber criminality is a persistent

subject matter in the literature. The customary resolution of this contradiction has

been to suggest a thorough reformulation of the set of laws governing jurisdiction.

From the onset, we must disclose our doubt towards the globalization of Internet crime

and the anxiety to embrace extra-territorial offences as the way out.

Internet crime techniques have distinctiveness that can greatly improve the reach

and impact of unlawful activities, such as the following:

The IUP Journal of Information Technology, 50 Vol. VII, No. 1, 2011

AUTHOR’S COPY

. To commit an offense, criminals need not be actually close to their

victims.

. Advancement in technology allows criminal actions to effortlessly crossmultiply

state and countrywide boundaries.

. At high velocity, and by attacking a huge number of victims at the same

point in time, Internet crime can be carried out repeatedly.

. Internet criminals can remain unknown more easily.

Cybercrimes indeed constitute a global concern and no state is free from

vulnerability. On the other hand, to appreciate why cybercriminality in Africa differs

from other parts of the world, one ought to appreciate the state of information security

in this area which is affected by factors such as the expansion of user base, poor

security alertness, lack of training for law enforcement authorities, lack of rules and
pathetic cross-border cooperation.

4. Types of Cybercrimes in Nigerian Academic Institutions

The modern thief can steal more with a computer than a gun. The following cybercrimes

have identified to be very popular in Nigerian institutions.

4.1 Hacking

Nigerian students can be seen on a daily basis engaging in brainstorming sessions at

institutions trying to break security codes for e-commerce, funds point cards and

e-marketing product sites. It is astonishing that even with their low level of training

or understanding of the intricacies of computing techniques, they occasionally get

results.

4.2 Denial of Service Attack

This is an act by the fraudster who floods the bandwidth of the victim’s system or fills

his e-mail inbox with junk mails depriving him of the services he is entitled to access

or supply.

4.3 Virus Dissemination

A virus is a computer program that infects files, frequently executable programs,

by inserting a duplication of itself into the file. These copies are usually executed

when the contaminated file is loaded into memory, giving way to the virus to

contaminate other files. A virus requires human participation (usually unaware)

to spread.

4.4 Software Piracy

Piracy involves the unlawful reproduction and sharing of applications, games, videos

and audios. This can be completed in a number of ways. Normally, pirates get an

original version of an application, film or game from the Internet and unlawfully make

Cybercrimes and the Nigerian Academic Institution Networks 51

.

4.7 Credit Card Fraud

If electronic transactions are not protected, the credit card numbers can be stolen by

hackers when users type the credit card number into the Internet page of the seller for

online transaction. The hackers can abuse this card by impersonating the credit card

holder.

4.8 Cyber Extortion

Hacking into and controlling various industry databases (or the threat of), promising to

release control back to the company if funds are received or some other demand satisfied.

4.9 Phishing

This is a technologically advanced scam that often uses spontaneous mails to trick

people into disclosing their financial and/or personal data. This is used by students in

Nigerian campuses. Phishing refers to cloning product and e-commerce web pages in

order to dupe unsuspecting users. Criminals clone product websites to trick innocent

world wide web users into ordering products that are actually unreal.

4.15 Cyber Plagiarism

This is the act of stealing peoples’ ideas through the world wide web. With increase in

the wide spread campus networks in Nigeria, students and lecturers alike use it to

steal other people’s ideas and publish them as their own original work.

individuals would believe and see cybercrime as a tool to make large sums of illegitimate money
without so much risk. However, modernity recognizes the advantages of technology and sees
risk as its inevitable feature and the point is how this risk can be prevented, minimized or
controlled (Giddens, 1991)
Cybercrime is no doubt borderless and it occurs in abstraction, without any face-to-face
interaction, it has brought together governments of various countries on a common front to enact
laws to fight against cybercrimes. Rational society is based on social actions which rationally
pursued a calculated end, where the end, the means, and the secondary results are rationally
considered and weighed. Cyber offenders are aware that it is easier for them to commit ‘e-fraud’
in comparison to committing fraud in physical space and they have calculated ends and means.
Trust is very significant in contemporary securities liberated by conceptual systems, online trust
on individual with whom one is transacting a relationship plays a significant role but because of
lack of physical closeness, it becomes easier for an individual to break the relationship at his own
will and at any time because he or she is not answerable to anyone. Cyber experts are limited in
number because of the technical skills required in this field which are complicated and difficult
to learn. Besides this, cybercrime is conducted from any part of the globe at any time by anyone.

In ideal and organized society, an equal emphasis is placed upon both cultural goals and
institutionalized means, and members of societies are satisfied with both. But in an unbalanced
society such as America, as well as Nigeria today, great importance is attached to the success
goals while relatively little importance is attached to the acceptable ways of achieving the
success). Cybercrime among youths has now becomes like a game of cards in which winning
becomes so important that, the rules are abandoned by some of the players and when rules cease
to operate, a situation of normlessness or anomie take place. In this situation of “anything goes”,
standards no longer influence behavior and deviance is encouraged.

However, on a theoretical note, RCT assumes that individuals have preferences ranging from
selfishness, opportunism, egoism, and linked-utility to solidarity. A selfishness assumption, for
example, implies an individual will readily break rules to maximize his or her benefits. In most
45

RCTs, individuals are regarded as self-interested agents with the ability to make judgments about
achieving subjectively defined goals (Akers, 2013).

Merton’s explanation is that people can result to deviance in a bid to attain societally approved
goals. The theoretical perspective allows the researcher to conceptualize further that, societal
discomfort, infrastructural inadequacies, economic lacunae and inability to sufficiently meet
needs create a strain condition that predisposes individuals to seeking redress and comfort in
deviant activities. Yahoo-yahoo perpetrators in this context are however individuals within
society that have faced strained conditions and are seeking out new opportunities and avenues to
make ends meet even though it is illegal. Robert Merton believed that most people have similar
ambitions, but they never have the same opportunities. When people fail to achieve society’s
expectations through approved means such as hard work and delayed gratification, they may
attempt to achieve success through cybercrime and other forms of crime from the internet.