Exploring Youth Awareness of Cybercrime and Factors Engendering its Proliferation in Nigeria

Just at the dawn of the new millennium, cybercrime evolved with modern sophisticated computers and internet facilities, harnessed by fraudulent individuals to commit crime in Nigeria. Cyber terrorism, phishing, identity theft, malware, internet drug trafficking, tax-refund fraud, and spam are identified as types of cybercrime endemic to this region of sub-Saharan Africa. On this note, this study examined youth awareness of cybercrime and investigated factors that engendered its proliferation in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria. Using one-on-one semi-structured in-depth interviews, the study identified urbanisation, unemployment and poverty, peer group influence, advanced knowledge in science and technology, the poor political will to fight cybercrime, and weak implementation of cybercrime laws, as the precipitating factors for youth degeneration into cybercrime in Nigeria. The study found evidence to describe cybercrime as a fraudulent act- a criminal act that is being perpetrated using modern technological devices with the aid of internet facilities. While some youths condemned the act outrightly, others embraced it as a coping strategy for the Nigerian youth who are unemployed, frustrated and deprived of socio-economic needs. Forasmuch cybercrime is not only endemic to Nigeria, this study suggests that critical steps must be taken to protect one's property by ensuring that various firms and organisations protect their IT infrastructures like networks and computer systems. Governments across various societies should ensure that cybercrime laws are systemically reviewed, reformulated, and implemented with more draconian measures. Moreover, individuals should conform to simple cyber rules by installing antivirus protection on their computer systems.