International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

ABSTRACT Background: The advent of social media has revolutionised the way people interact, communicate, and share information. However, the increasing popularity of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have also been linked to a rise in financial crimes, particularly among young people, including undergraduates of Alex-Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State. Meanwhile, there is a dearth of research on the relationship between social media usage and financial crimes among undergraduates in this university.
Objective: To investigate the relationship between social media usage and financial crimes among undergraduates of Alex-Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to identify the types of financial crimes committed by undergraduates on social media, the factors that contribute to their involvement in financial crimes, and the strategies that can be employed to prevent and mitigate financial crimes among undergraduates of the institution.
Method: The study adopted descriptive survey design. A total of 400 Mass communication students of AE-FUNAI were sampled using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with a consistency coefficient of 0.80. while analysis was done using descriptive statistics and presented using frequency tables.
Result: Findings reveal that financial pressure, peer influence, lack of awareness of legal consequences, accessibility to social media and technology were the major factors that predispose students to financial cybercrime. Phishing, identify theft, online fraud, cyber extortion and hacking were the prevalent forms and mechanisms of financial cybercrime facilitated by social media platforms.
Conclusion: The study concludes that there is low level of awareness of implication of cybercrimes among the students studied.
Unique Contribution: The study has offered new insight into the increasing involvement of university students in financial cybercrime through the use of internet and various social media platforms, with the expectations that policy makers, cyber security managers, university administrators and parents will find this insight useful in designing cyber-security awareness inclusive university programme that will direct the students towards more responsive use of the internet and social media platforms better academic and other achievements. Key Recommendations: The university management should strengthen cyber-security awareness withing the university, ensure strict enforcement of cybercrime policies and collaborate with social media platforms to enhance security features and create alerts that help students recognize scams and phishing attempts.