When people discuss online fraud, the main target is commonly on Those who deceive victims directly. Little attention is paid Those who enable these crimes By providing the digital infrastructure that’s required for deception.
This digital infrastructure includes reliable access to electricity and the Internet in addition to digital tools corresponding to proxy servers, spoofing software, phishing kits and virtual private networks. The parties involved will need to have technical skills in areas corresponding to web development, social engineering and system maintenance, skills which are of crucial importance for maintaining fraudulent operations behind the scenes.
Research on cybercrime is growing in West Africa, especially studies of Nigeria And Ghana. But Cameroon is understaffed. These research results have covered an ubiquitous problem in Cameroon: website developer who creates digital shop fronts for fraudsters.
PET frauds are a very common kind of online fraud committed by cameroons fraudsters. This is a type of non -delivery fraud through which victims are made to pay for animals that don’t exist. As a rule, these fake pet web sites are aimed toward potential pet buyers in countries corresponding to the USA, Canada and Australia by promoting non -existent family tree puppies and kittens in addition to exotic animals corresponding to parrots, aras and turtles.
Instead of concentrating on the fraudsters themselves, Our study examined the infrastructure that allows it to enable fraud, and the hidden networks of actors, enable deception. Our research illuminates a little-known group of Enabler: Website developers in Anglophone Cameroon, who knowingly create fake shopping web sites.
Through interviews with 14 website developer We took part on this illegal trade and examined the socio -economic and political forces that drive their participation.
Our results showed that A combination of economic hardship, social norms and cultural beliefs drives fraud in Cameroon. Our study shows the necessity for a more differentiated understanding of cybercrime. The website developers in Cameroon don’t match the standard profile of a fraud. They see themselves as qualified employees who navigate a fancy sociopolitical landscape through which survival often comes before morality, since Cameroon has experienced widespread poverty, instability and an uncertain follow -up struggle under the presidency of Paul Biya.
In order to effectively address fraud, interventions must transcend the punishing criminals. Instead, the efforts should focus on reducing the structures that cause fraud, starting with those that activate this.
Why select this activity
A central topic that emerged from our interviews was the results of the ambazonic crisis, a persistent separatist conflict in camera regions. The crisis began as peaceful demonstrations 2016 as trade unionists and lawyers against the mandatory use of the French language in schools and jurisdiction. Until 2017, these protests had turn into violent when armed separatist groups were created within the Anglophone regions and involved sporadic conflicts with state forces. The separatists demanded the secession of the 2 Anglophone regions and described them as Arbazonia. The conflict has escalated since then. Report treasure That violence has led to roughly 6,000 civilian deaths, the expulsion of 600,000 people in Cameroon and the forced migration of over 77,000 people to Nigeria as refugees.
The website developer we surveyed described how every day shots, displacement and political instability have made it difficult to secure stable employment and find customers.
Serious quoted Frequent power failures and web blackouts as obstacles to cooperation with legitimate customers.
How a developer put it:
There are times once we run out for days without electricity or network. I can have a legitimate customer, but when power leaves, I lose the job. Fraudsters, however, don’t care for delays. You are at all times there with a unique request.
Ghost-Town protests, through which separatists implement economic closures and force people to remain of their houses, proceed to limit the chances for legitimate business. In this unstable environment, the implementation of the web site development for fraudsters became certainly one of the few constant income currents.
A second topic was spiritual beliefs. We found These spiritual beliefs had an impact on decision -making. Developers rationalized their work by distinguishing between fraud and fraud. They believed that the fraud against the victims was directly committed and had spiritual consequences, while they simply didn’t construct web sites for fraudsters. Some fraudsters in West Africa visit a so -called “”Juju priests”Who can demand an animal sacrifice and even murder In return to your blessing. The website developers we talked to didn’t need to become involved.
One of the developers shared his fears of spiritual effects:
Fraudsters who perform rituals for money don’t last. Most of the time they see that they die on the age of 20 or 30. I don't need to be involved. But make web sites? It's different. I’m not the one who takes the cash.
A 3rd topic in our findings was that Great boy cultureA subculture that glorifies online fraud as a logo of success. In some West African communities, there are fraudsters who show their wealth through expensive cars, clothing and lifestyle more seen as a task moderator than as a criminal.
Vanesa, a developer, explained:
Everyone desires to loosen up with the large boys. Fraudsters need to be viewed as superstars, and which means spending money like celebrities.
The normalization of web fraud in some circles has produced the perception that the financial success justifies the funds with which it’s achieved. While some developers disapproved of the extravagant lifestyle of the fraudsters, others saw him as a model of economic survival to strive.
Rethink fraud prevention
This Results Request the simplified concept that the Internet naturally enables fraud. Instead, the fraud lives in a fancy ecosystem that not only encompasses the perpetrators, but additionally the enabled, which facilitate deception for economic, political and cultural reasons.
A simpler strategy for fraud prevention If the yields of cybercrimality appeal, not only the fraudsters.
That means:
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