Financial Cybercrimes During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Africa

Introduction

The novel Corona Virus popularly known as ‘COVID-19’ was declared a global pandemic in March 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO) after the nature and the level of devastation of the disease became uncontrollable (Osler, 2019). The mysterious disease emanated from the industrial city of Wuhan in China in December 2019 and quickly spread to other parts of the world at the speed of light (Zizek, 2020). The pandemic has so far infected millions of people across the world, killed hundreds of thousands, grounded all economic activities and it has affected and influenced political decisions and policy responses by world governments, international organizations and agencies and all global key players in the affected sectors particularly the health sector (Rosberg & Knell, 2020 and Hochberg, 2020). Africa is one of the continents that are affected by COVID-19 pestilence in the early months of 2020. The nature and trend of devastation in Africa are softer than in American and European countries in terms of incidences of infection and deaths but the African economy which is vulnerable in comparison with its American and European counterparts is where the virus hit hard (Hruby, 2020 and Samaddar, 2020).

In the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic, many world countries witnessed their daily livelihood activities abruptly halted. Hence, the scramble for alternative strategies commenced. One of the plausible methods of operation to keep the world going and to engage the various stakeholders actively in responding to countering the virus is the use of digital means (Kredens, 2020). The global revolution in internet service and the explosion of the digital economy linked the world to an era of globalization unprecedented in the history of mankind (Buchanan, 2016). Internet and the digital revolution compelled all for devising means of securing personal details and private data and information. This was the foundation for Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is necessary because of increased Cybercrimes by hackers, fraudsters and other groups that target individuals and critical national infrastructure (Antonucci, 2017). Currently, there are over 4 billion internet users in the world and nearly 5 billion smartphone users all over the world (Kemp, 2020). Internet spread across Africa rapidly in the 21^st century. Almost all African countries are connected today. Cybersecurity is the protection of vital and private data including financial information and big data from unauthorized intrusion. Users of computers, smartphones and the internet are vulnerable and exposed to Cybercriminals once their information is uploaded online. Thus, modern computers, phones and digital gadgets are protected against hackers through effective Cybersecurity by individuals, organizations, businesses and governments (Kshetri, 2019; Rafay, 2023).