With the exponential growth of digitization, the world is shrinking every day; people in the world, communicate faster than ever. As the digital world expands, so does illegal access and misuse amongst users and developers. As a result, Cybercrime rises.
According to Microsoft, about half of all adults on the internet were victims of cybercrime. It cost the world economy about 500 billion dollars. Due to the advent of the pandemic, a lot of transactions are now online based. People now work and shop from home, consequently making the internet a vital aspect of an average person.
As important as the internet is, it is a curse to individuals suffering from cyberbullying and scamming on these faceless platforms. ICT experts have continuously improved on their products and services to protect the rights of their users. Governments have also made laws to act as a shield from preventing computer-related fraud from happening.
What Is Cybercrime?

Cybercrime, in simple words, are illicit and illegal activities carried out through the internet. It is an umbrella term used to cover different devious activities that are computer-related or where technology is a means.
Cybercrimes include crimes such as forgery, hacking, password theft, virus dissemination, phishing, email bombing, cyberstalking, identity fraud and a whole lot of others.
The scope of forgery is very vast. It can range from the production of falsified documents to the act of unlawfully creating a similar signature belonging to another individual, entity with the intent of economic gain. A forgery is a criminal act. It involves imitating, misrepresentation of a product or service with the intent of defrauding.
Cybercrime in Africa

Africa as a continent is the second-largest and second-most-populous in the world after Asia. After its long battle of colonialism, the African continent grows in population, economic, and global influence. The continent has a large population of young people who are adapting to technological advancement in the world. These advancements also bring with them risks.
Since the world is fast evolving towards a society where communication happens in cyberspace, digital crime is now a global pandemic.
Cybercrimes have become sophisticated over the years. These criminals breach different infrastructures put in place to curb their activities. It makes most internet users sceptical about their private data being used illegally. According to Statista, the average cost of a data breach is around $3.86 million.
It varies depending on the regions, organizations size and industry. The consequences of these crimes on victims are usually devastating. Due to the borderless nature of Cybercrime in Africa, cybercrime tends to flourish.
Consequently, this has put the continent in a tough spot in the global world. It has continued to be a cankerworm in the continent. Studies have shown that cybercrime in Africa is growing faster than in any other region in the world.
Moreover…
In Africa, there are less data on cybercrimes. However, it does not negate the fact that there is a high rate of cybercrime on the continent. According to Microsoft Digital Crimes Units (DCU), there are nearly 400 million victims of cybercrime each year.
Cybercrime costs the Nigerian economy a large sum of 500 million dollars. Ivory Coast counts its cost by losing 3.8 million euros to a cyber-attack in 2013. INTERPOL reported that businesses in Africa lost up to 2.7 million dollars and individuals lost up to 422 thousand dollars in 2017. African countries are paying enormous prices for their lack of investment in cyber security.
African Financial Institutions Ordeal with Cybercriminals
Reports show that financial institutions in Africa are among the highest hit of cybercrimes. An argument occurs due to their lack of investment in cyber security, making them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Examples of such are phishing and credit card fraud etc.
A study by Delloite shows that financial institutions in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia had lost up to 245 million due to cyber-attacks in 2011. Estimates show that the cost of cybercrime in Africa is lesser than its counterparts; for the continent, the price is enormous. Reports have that Ghana financial institutions have experienced more than 400,000 malware incidents in 2016.
Though they are faced with the highest threats of cybercrimes, African financial institutions still find cyber security a luxury rather than a necessity. These institutions have insecure systems, leaving them at large risk of breaches, such as hacking and fraud.
Kasperky, a leading company in cyber security, states that it blocked 975 million cyber-attack in 2020 alone. With three African countries being in its top ten countries of users attacked by mobile malware in Q2, 2021. In 2010, 80% of PCs in Africa were reported to be infected with viruses and malware. As studies have shown that a lot of Africans are still using outdated or even pirated software. This makes it easy for cybercrime to flourish in the continent.
Cybercriminals are becoming more aggressive in their attack, however, financial institutions are lagging in their response. They keep struggling to keep up with the resources needed to counter these criminals. In a survey carried out by Deloitte, only 40% of the respondents (financial institutions) were confident of their cyber security.
How are we tackling this?
There is a need to see cyber security as a necessity in Africa. Though the number of African countries adopting cyber laws are increasing fast, there is still a need for more sophisticated and effective laws to guide cyberspace.
To tackle cybercrime in Africa, INTERPOL with UK funding is targeting cybercriminals in Africa. This will allow for cyberspace where laws are respected and people’s fundamental human rights are respected.
African governments are also making laws to regulate cyberspace, for instance in Nigeria, there is the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act of 2015. South African also signed the Cybercrime act bill into law on 26 May 2021. This shows a significant improvement in cyber security in Africa. However, the continent is still lagging behind; this can be associated with the illiteracy level and lack of technological know-how.
Tips on how to avoid being a victim of Cyber Criminals
You know we at Techtrend Africa, will always proffer solutions. Here, we give you tips on how to avoid being a victim of cybercriminals.
- Use strong passwords
- Have a strong knowledge of social media security
- Download applications from trusted sources
- Avoid giving out personal information on the internet
- Keep applications up to date
- Secure your internet connection