ABSTRACT

Cybercrime involves using computers and Internet by individuals to commit crime. Cyber
terrorism, identity theft and spam are identified as types of cybercrimes. The study identified
some of the causes of cybercrimes to include urbanization, unemployment and weak
implementation of cybercrime laws. The effects of cybercrimes on organizations, the society and
the country in general include reducing the competitive edge of organizations, waste of
production time and damage to the image of the country. With Nigeria venturing into cashless
society, there is a need for cybercrimes menace to be minimized if not completely eradicated.
Some of the ways of combating such crimes include taking reasonable steps to protect ones
property by ensuring that firms protect their IT infrastructure like Networks and computer
systems; government should assure that cybercrime laws are formulated and strictly adhered to
and individuals should observe simple rules by ensuring antivirus protection on their computer
systems.
 INTRODUCTION

Information and communication technology (ICT) systems are used virtually in all walks of life.
They are used at home for personal uses, and at various offices for business and commercial
uses. Most organisations, institutions, agencies and government today, depend on Computer
networks to carry out both simple and complex business operations, engage in technological
advances, and perform interdependent financial transactions, and also disseminate classified
information. Further, ICT systems and computer networks enhance electronic commerce, mobile
commerce, advances in medicine, research and innovations and social networking.

In fact, ICT systems and computer networks are now regarded as basic essential utilities like
electricity, water or telephone, without which, organisations and citizens would struggle. The
information and telecommunications revolution is changing the face of crime in fundamental
ways. Advances in technology have provided exciting new opportunities and benefits, but they
also heighten vulnerability to crime. Computer crimes around the world cost organizations and
governments billions of dollars each year. Criminal activities have gone technological and it
constitutes a serious problem for organizations and society in general. This brings us to the study
of Cybercrime as a type of crime.

Cyber has a range of meanings depending on the context. In general, the prefix "cyber" refers to
digital technology and the internet, or the interactions that take place within these digital spaces.

However, the cyberspace is increasingly becoming vulnerable as many businesses, agencies and
individuals are being swindled by cyber criminals not only within the country but around the
world. Cyber Crime is a frequently used word by individuals in our contemporary Society. To
understand the true meaning of cybercrime, there is the need to understand the slit meaning of
Cyber and Crime. The term ―Cyber‖ is a prefix used to describe an idea as part of the computer
and Information age and ―Crime‖ can be described as any activity that contravenes legal
procedure mostly performed by individuals with a criminal motive.

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Cybercrime, as most people are already aware, refers to those criminal acts such as identity theft
and bank frauds facilitated through the use of the internet. But as most Nigerians also know, to
our collective shame, our country is often cited as a breeding ground for many of these nefarious
practices because of the activities of some of our citizens.
Overall, the term "cyber" is used to describe the various aspects of our increasingly digital lives,
and how technology influences our social, economic, and even personal relationships.

Research have that the first cyber crime occurred in the 1960s. Mainframe were not connected
with other ones and only few people can access them, the cyber crime were always “insider”,
cybercrime, which was employment, allowed them to access into mainframe computer and then
refers to as computer crime rather than cybercrime. Actually, in the 1960s and 1970s the cyber
crime which was “Computer Crime” infact was different from the cybercrime we face with
today, because availability of internet was restricted within some section.

Keywords: Cybercrime, Cyberspace, Internet security and Nigeria’s economic growth and
development

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 CHAPTER ONE

DEFINITION AND NATURE OF CYBER CRIME

In the context of cybercrime, a crime refers to any illegal or unlawful act that occurs in the
digital space. Cybercrime encompasses a range of activities that involve either computers,
computer networks, or other digital devices, with the purpose of causing harm or obtaining
illegal gain. This includes activities such as hacking into computer systems or networks,
spreading malware or viruses, identity theft, cyberstalking, online harassment, phishing scams,
and various forms of fraud. Cybercrime is a growing concern as more and more aspects of our
lives are conducted digitally, and it can have serious consequences for individuals, businesses,
and even entire countries.

Cybercrime refers to any criminal activity that is carried out through the use of digital
technologies such as computers, smartphones, and the internet. It can take many forms, including
hacking, phishing, identity theft, cyberstalking, online scams, and more. Cybercriminals use
various techniques and tools like malware, social engineering, and data breaches to gain
unauthorized access to sensitive data, steal money or personal information, and cause harm to
individuals, businesses, and organizations. It is crucial to take preventative measures to protect
yourself from cybercrime, such as using strong passwords, keeping your software up-to-date, and
being cautious when clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown sources.
Cybercrime can also be defined as “The illegal usage of any communication device to commit or
facilitate in committing any illegal act”. A cybercrime is explained as a type of crime that targets
or uses a computer or a group of computers under one network for the purpose of harm.
Cybercrimes are committed using computers and computer networks. They can be targeting
individuals, business groups, or even governments. Investigators tend to use various ways to
investigate devices suspected to be used or to be a target of a cybercrime.

Cybercrime was coined by Peter Cassidy, Secretary General of the Anti-Phishing Working
Group, to distinguish computer programmes (and coordinated, interlocking sets of programmes)
that are designed specifically to animate financial crime from other kinds of malevolent packages

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(Shehu, 2014). Cybercrime involves the use of computers and the internet to defraud
unsuspecting victims ranging from identity theft, credit card theft, to money laundering by
terrorists, and organized crime syndicates. Accordingly, Halder and Jaishankar (2011), views
cybercrime as offences committed against an individual or group of individuals with a criminal
motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm to the
victim directly or indirectly, by using modern telecommunication networks such as internet (chat
rooms, e-mails, notice board and groups) and mobile phones. This definition limits cybercrime as
internet aided illicit activities targeted at individuals and groups.

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 CHAPTER TWO

CATEGORIES OF CYBER CRIME

Cybercrime can be divided into two big categories.
1. Computer as a Target: Computer as a target crime require much higher expertise from
the perpetrators and are usually committed as a group of individuals rather than loners.
Given the technical expertise required to execute and the novelty of these types of crimes,
these are the crimes that society is more unprepared to face. Fortunately, this type of
cybercrime is the least common due to the expertise and co-ordination that they require.
These crimes usually depends on computer viruses, malware and denial of service
attacks. It requires higher expertise committed as a group of individuals rather than
loners.

2. Computer as a Tool: Computer as a tool cybercrime is much less technically unrefined,

this making it more common; In these cases, the attacker relies on human weakness to
exploit. These include thefts, scams and harassment, which have existed for centuries,
way before computer science started to develop.

TYPES / KINDS OF CYBER CRIME

1. Phishing: This involves an attacker sending emails or messages that appear to be from a
legitimate source, such as a bank or popular business. These messages usually contain a
link or attachment that, when clicked or opened, can either install malware on the user's
device or direct them to a fake website where they are prompted to enter sensitive
information.

2. Identity Theft: Cybercriminals can steal someone's personal or financial information,

such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or passwords, in order to commit
fraud or other crimes.

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3. Malware: This is malicious software that can infect a user's device and do things like
steal data, spy on them, or completely take over control of their computer.
4. Ransomware: This is a type of malware that encrypts a victim's files and demands a
ransom in exchange for the decryption key.

5. Cyberbullying: This is the use of digital technology to harass, threaten, or embarrass

another person.

6. Hacking: This involves gaining unauthorized access to a computer system or network in

order to steal information or cause damage.

7. Denial of service: This is an attack that overwhelms a website or server with traffic so
that it becomes inaccessible to legitimate users.

8. Internet Fraud: Internet fraud is a type of cybercrimes that makes use of the internet and
it can be considered a general term that groups all of the crimes that happen over the
internet like spam, banking frauds, theft of service, etc.

9. Cyber Stalking: This can be defined as unwanted persistent content from someone
targeting other individuals online with the aim of controlling and intimidating like
unwanted continued calls and messages.

10. Software Piracy: This is the illegal use or copy of paid software with violation of
copyrights or license restrictions. An example of software piracy is when you download a
fresh non-activated copy of windows and use what is known as “Cracks” to obtain a valid
license for windows activation. This is considered software piracy. Not only software can
be pirated but also music, movies, or pictures.

11. Social Media Frauds: The use of social media fake accounts to perform any kind of
harmful activities like impersonating other users or sending intimidating or threatening
messages. And one of the easiest and most common social media frauds is Email spam.

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12. Online Drug Trafficking: With the big rise of cryptocurrency technology, it became
easy to transfer money in a secured private way and complete drug deals without drawing
the attention of law enforcement. This led to a rise in drug marketing on the internet.
Illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or marijuana are commonly sold and traded online,
especially on what is known as the "Dark Web".

13. Electronic Money Laundering: Also known as transaction laundering. It is based on

unknown companies or online business that makes approvable payment methods and
credit card transactions but with incomplete or inconsistent payment information for
buying unknown products. It is by far one of the most common and easy money
laundering methods.

14. Cyber Extortion: This is the demand for money by cybercriminals to give back some
important data they've stolen or stop doing malicious activities such as denial of service
attacks.

15. Intellectual-property Infringements: It is the violation or breach of any protected

intellectual-property rights such as copyrights and industrial design.

16. Online Recruitment Fraud: One of the less common cybercrimes that are also growing
to become more popular is the fake job opportunities released by fake companies for the
purpose of obtaining a financial benefit from applicants or even making use of their
personal data.

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 CHAPTER THREE
CAUSES OF CYBER CRIME

The root causes of cybercrimes are not far-fetched. One only has to take a quick glance around
the society to observe illicit wealth acquisition and its display. This is coupled with the fact that,
the perpetrators are highly exalted. The problem is made worse by the high youth
unemployment, the absence of enforceable prohibitive laws and the general laissez faire attitude
of individuals and businesses regarding cyber security (Hassan et al., 2012). Evidence has also
shown that, a significant proportion of these crimes are perpetuated by people in their youthful
age. It is however worth noting that some of these attacks are also perpetrated within
organizations. Many internet users are easily lured by unknown mails and web site addresses,
falling victim to spyware and phishing. Hassan et al. (2012) identified urbanization, high
unemployment, quest for wealth, poor implementation of cybercrime laws, inadequately
equipped law enforcement agencies, and negative role models as some of the causes of
proliferated cybercrimes in Nigeria. Akwara et al., (2013), in their study examined the
relationships among unemployment, poverty and insecurity in Nigeria. They found that
unemployment causes poverty, and that a positive causal relationship exists between the latter
and insecurity. Other causes of cybercrime according to them are: corruption, gullibility/greed,
proliferation of cyber cafes and the vulnerable nature of the internet. The main causes of cyber-
crimes in Nigeria are briefly discussed below

a. Unemployment: Cybercrime can be associated with high rate of unemployment, harsh

economic conditions, and poor educational system. According to the Nigerian National
Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria is saddled with almost 20 million unemployed people, with
about 2 million new entrants into the dispirited realm of the unemployed each year. This
clearly reveals that a lot of youths are not employed.

b. Gullibility/Greed: Most victims of cybercrime express some degree of gullibility and/or

greed. Some people carry out transactions hoping to make profits without thorough
investigations. Such people are preys for the cyber criminals.

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c. Poverty: According to Jolaosho (1996), poverty refers to the inability to afford decent
food, shelter, clothing and recreational activities. Hence, poverty is the absence of basic
life essentials for survival and comfort of mankind. A poverty-stricken person may
unwittingly turn to crime for survival. About 50% of Nigerians live in extreme poverty as
at 2018.

d. The Proliferation of Cyber Cafes and the Porous Nature of the Internet: It is
important to note that the nature of the internet is that geographical and political
boundaries are not relevant as attacks can be generated by criminals from anywhere in the
world and executed wherever the criminals deem fit. Also, the proliferation of cyber
cafes has been another major cause of the rising cyber crime.

e. Urbanization: Urbanization is one of the causes of Cyber crime in Nigeria; it is the

massive movement of people from rural settlement to Cites. According to Wikipedia,
urbanization is looked at as the massive physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural
migration in search for a better life. This result in a heavy competition amongst the
growing populace more especially the elites, as such the elites find it lucrative to invest in
the crime of cyber because it is a business that requires less capital to invest and they are
popularly called “Yahoo Boys”. Meke (2012), in his article “Urbanization and cyber
crime in Nigeria” reiterated urbanization as one of the major causes of cyber crime in
Nigeria and Urbanization will be beneficial if and only if good jobs can be created in the
cities where population growth is increasing, in his article, he emphasized that
urbanization without crime is really impossible. As such the elites amongst them find it
lucrative to invest in the cyber crime because it is a business that requires less capital.

f. Negative Role Models: Youths are mirrors of the society, but it is quite unfortunate how
parents neglect their rightful duties. Meke (2012) remarked that today many parents
transmits crime values to their wards, via socialization as if it a socio cultural values
which ought to be transmitted to the younger generation. In addition, the high level of
Cybercrimes patronage in Nigeria is one of the reasons why the crimes are seen as a norm
in our society.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CYBER CRIME

It is well-known that a buoyant economy thrives on an effective and efficient financial system.
Cyber-attacks are usually skewed toward deriving financial gains. Banks, other financial
institutions, businesses and individuals bear the losses of such acts. Some economic impacts of
cybercrime in Nigeria include:

 Increases in the operating cost of businesses due to huge expenses incurred on purchase
of security software applications to reduce the rate of cyberattacks.

 Failure of institutions arising from huge losses from cybercrimes - this could lead to a
loss in confidence in the financial institutions and a possible run on them (where banks
are involved), with possible contagion effects.

 Reduction in Competitive Edge: An organization can lose its competitive advantage

and suffer losses when a hacker steals its confidential information and future plans and
sells it to a competitor. The time spent by IT personnel on rectifying harmful incidents
caused by computer criminals could have been used to earn profit for the organization.

 Productivity Losses and Rising Cost (Inflation): Cybercrime also reduces the
productivity of an organization, as businesses take measures to prevent it by securing
their network. This is time consuming and also affects productivity. In addition, to
control viruses and malware, organizations buy security software to reduce the chances of
attacks. Computer crime therefore increases overhead cost and reduces profit margins.
Other effects include the consumption of computer and network resources, and the cost in
human time and attention of deleting unwanted messages.

 Monetary Losses: The financial costs to economies and businesses from cyber-attacks
include the loss of intellectual property, financial fraud, and damage to reputation, lower
productivity, and third party liability. Opportunity cost (lost sales, lower productivity
etc.) make up a proportion of the reported cost of cyber-attacks and viruses. However,

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 opportunity costs do not translate directly into costs to the national economy. Businesses
face greater damage from financial fraud and intellectual property theft over the Internet.
Thus, where cybercrime is rife (especially relating to businesses and financial
institutions) there are bound to be untold financial consequences. According to a
research, the cost of cybercrime in six countries (U.S.A, Japan, Germany, U.K, Brazil
and Australia) in 2016 ranged from USD$4.3 million to USD$17.3 million annually. The
study used a sample of 237 companies in the six countries.

 Destroys Country’s Image: One key negative effect of cybercrime is that it tarnishes a
country’s image. Once a country is labelled as a harbor for cybercrime activities,
potential investors are cautious in investing in such countries. This has some dire
implications for the nation’s macroeconomic stability. Cybercrime is no doubt providing
a dent on Nigeria’s image which remains a crucial source of national embarrassment for
the country. The fear of cybercrime has made several persons to avoid the use of ICT.
This has a negative impact on the welfare of the citizenry and investors. Confidence in a
nation’s financial system could be eroded by activities of cyber criminals. Potential
investors and tourists are equally scared and the image of citizens is tainted.

 Retards Financial Inclusion: Proliferation of cybercrime in a particular country

discourages financial inclusion, due to the fear of being a victim of cyber-attack. The
perceived loss of confidence may also affect the country’s developmental progress, as
foreign investments find it difficult to flow into the economy. This gives the nation an
economic pariah status.

 Increase in provisions - while loan loss provisions are predictable with some level of
recoverability, losses arising from cybercrimes are not predictable; leading to increase in
irrecoverable provisions and a consequent depletion of capital for banks and business
entities. This could undermine confidence level in the nation’s financial system.

 Regulators and Supervisors of licensed deposit-taking institutions may be required to use

taxpayers’ money to resolve problems arising from cybercrimes. This may be in the form
of problematic deposit-taking institutions receiving a lifeline through Prompt Corrective

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 Actions or where institutions (banks) eventually fail, there would be the depletion on the
Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) to pay off depositors.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, cybercrime is growing threat to individuals, businesses and government

worldwide. As technology continues to advance, so do the methods and techniques used by cyber
criminals to exploit vulnerabilities and steal sensitive information. It is essential for individuals
and organizations to take proactive measures, to protect themselves from cyber attacks by
implementing strong security measures, regularly updating software and hardware and educating
themselves at the latest threats and best practices.

Additionally, law enforcement agencies and governments must work together to prosecute cyber
criminals and enact stronger laws and regulations to deter further cyber-attacks. Only that
working together can we hope to combat the growing threat of cyber crime and protect ourselves
and our digital assets.

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