PREVALENCE OF CYBERCRIMES AMONG YOUTHS IN ONITSHA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANANMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of cybercrime among youths in Onitsha South Local Government Area (LGA), Anambra State, Nigeria. The Social Strain Theory (SST) was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. The study used the mixed research design. The multi-stage sampling procedurewas used in the selection of 522 adults aged 18 years and above within the study area as study particpants. A researcherdeveloped questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data; while the qualitative data were collected using In-Depth Interviews (IDI) guide. The quantitative data collected were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Two hypotheses stated were tested at 0.05 significant levels using the chi-square (χ2) inferential statistics. On the other hand, the qualitative data collected were analysed using the manual content  analysis. Findings of the study revealed that cybercrime was prevalent among the youths in Onitsha South L.G.A of Anambra State. Hacking, advance fee fraud, identity theft and cyber terrorism were the most prevalent forms of cybercrimes among the youths in the area. Consequently, it was recommended that programmes that can enable the youths achieve useful skills for self-employment should be initiated by the government.