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Abstract
Cybercrime has become a growing global concern, affecting individuals, corporations, and governments alike, with its reach extending far beyond national borders. The paper adopted a theoretical approach to examine the prevalence of cybercriminality among undergraduates of universities in Southeastern Nigeria. The paper used two theoretical approaches: the routine activity theory and the differential-association theory. The routine activity theory stipulates three necessary conditions for most crime: a likely offender (cybercriminals), a suitable target (victims) and the absence of a capable guardian (unprotected information), coming together in time and space. That is, for a crime to occur, a likely offender must find a suitable target in the absence of capable guardians. And the differential-association theory asserts that an individual is influenced to participate in criminal behaviour through watching and interacting with other individuals who are engaging in the criminal behaviour. The study revealed that the high level of corruption and the spread of poverty are seen by university undergraduates as the principal cause of cybercrime. Findings also show that the effort to get rich quickly by most Nigerians, especially the youths, is often exploited by cyber fraudsters. Again, findings also show that many security personnel, instead of looking at how to arrest this cybercrime operator, serve as bodyguards to them and cover them up in order to gain cash rewards. The conclusion is that cybercrime can adequately be controlled if law enforcement agencies are trained on the use of technology. The study recommends that there should be a more proactive approach that will allow law enforcement agencies to track and investigate students’ involvement in cybercrime within and outside the institution.