-
Youth Participation In Social Media Fraud; Problems, Effect And Solution
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 3]
Page 3 of 3
-
-
-
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study are as follows:
To find out the pattern of social media fraud in tertiary institutions in Zaria.
To explore the social attributes of those involved in social media fraud in tertiary institutions in Zaria.
To identify the causes of social media fraud in the study area.
To identify the types of social media fraud that is common in the study area.
To examine the consequences of social media fraud in the study area.
To suggest appropriate solutions to the problem.
1.5 Significance of the Study
With
the ever increasing pace of development, social media fraud has become
an inevitable and a more specialized area of crime which threatens the
economy and even the peace and security of the nation. The publicity
surrounding Nigeria social media fraud is raising fears that the country
may face a slowdown in international investment in telecommunication as
well as the financial sectors (Thomas, 2011). As more Nigerians use the
internet for their banking needs, the number of fraudsters eyeing
people’s bank accounts and online financial transactions has also
multiplied. Hence, this study has provided useful information on the
factors responsible for the increase rate of social media fraud in the
society.
Unlike the advance societies, developing societies have
almost little or no modalities put in place to curb the excesses of
social media fraudsters. In order to out smart the social media fraud
fighting agencies, these social media fraudsters have connections with
one another thereby learning more sophisticated methods/skills day in
day out to commit this havoc. As such, the exposure of the techniques
been used by these social media fraudsters will contribute positively to
the efforts being made by these agencies.
Moreover, since youths
within the age bracket of 18-30 years (Zero Tolerance, 2006), have been
identified to be most vulnerable to this crime and have also been
identified to be either in tertiary institutions or about to be admitted
into one or graduates. The research work was able to identify other
attributes/characteristics of social media fraudsters. In addition,
since social media fraud is denting the country image among the
committee of nations and the present administration has vowed to place
Nigeria among the top twenty largest economies in the world by 2020.
This research will contribute positively to the efforts being made by
concerned government and private agencies to develop strategies to
combat the menace.
Above all, taking into account that social media
fraud and the underlying criminology behind cyber criminals are very new
and there is a relative shortage of available research and literature
on the subject. This therefore, makes this study very important because
the study has added to the existing literature by revealing a number of
different bases on what typically makes and motivates social media
frauds and also identify the consequences it has in the society.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The
study revolves around issues on the pattern and consequences of social
media fraud. It was conducted in Zaria, Kaduna State and limited to
students of 3 selected tertiary institutions namely; Ahmadu Bello
University, Federal College of Education and Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic.
In addition, other respondents that participated in the study were
operators of cyber café, lecturers from Computer Science Department of
the selected tertiary institution and individuals who indulge in social
media fraud. The study was conducted from August 2011 to May 2013.
1.7 Definition of Key Terms
Computer:
Computer is described as an electronic machine that works under the
control of store information (programs). It accept data (input), store
data in the memory and process the data to produce the required result
in a specified format as information (output).
Internet: Internet
means international communication network. It is a communication network
among computers. It is an interconnection of computers across globe.
CHAPTER ONE -- [Total Page(s) 3]
Page 3 of 3
-
