BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Computers and the internet have developed into a global phenomena in recent years. Nowadays, technology connects people all over the world in ways that were before impossible. Citizens of other nations can easily communicate with one another thanks to the connectivity of numerous computers, or “cyberspace.” Unfortunately, as internet has grown and changed, so have different types of cybercrimes.

Organized crime organizations are rapidly shifting their focus from traditional crimes to more lucrative and inherently less risky operations online. This is particularly true because digital technology encourages communication while also providing a fertile ground for criminal behavior, including vandalism, identity theft, and theft of sensitive government data, to mention a few. This has led some traditional criminal groups to approach e-criminals for assistance.

Data theft was the first cybercrime to occur, and it happened even before the internet was invented. The history and evolution are simple to follow and parallel with the internet’s own evolution, with the earliest crimes being straightforward information theft hacks. With the growth of email in the late 1980s, the first significant wave of cybercrime emerged. It served as a launching pad for numerous scams and malware. Due to the spike in people filling out as many profiles as they could, which led to a deluge of personal data and ID theft, the introduction of social media in the 2000s raised the stakes for cybercrime.

The amount of cyber-crimes that are reported to authorities has greatly increased, and new technology creates potential for new crimes. Due to the fact that many acts go unreported and/or unrecorded, there is currently no reliable information on the prevalence of cybercrime against individuals. The frequency of reported computer intrusions has reportedly increased significantly over the previous few years, but continuously. Law enforcement has not been able to adequately address the concerns posed by people who use computers to conduct crimes, despite the rise in these crimes.

In fact, crimes are a natural part of every society. Each society has its own unique laws and rules that are applicable only inside its own territorial jurisdiction. As a result, it suggests that certain behaviors may be penalized in one State under the terms of the law while going unpunished in other States that have not classified those behaviors as crimes.  

Many nations lack the legal framework necessary to punish cybercrimes, and no nation is equipped to effectively tackle this crime on its own. When it was determined that a man from the Philippines was the source of the deadly “I Love You” virus, this became clear. Because there was no Philippine law in place at the time that dealt explicitly with internet offenses, the perpetrator got away with nothing. A month later, the Philippine Congress approved the Electronic Commerce Law. Countries that have enacted legislation to combat cybercrime discover that it is either out-of-date, inconsistent, or in contradiction with existing legislation. For instance, the UK Computer Misuse Act of 1990 received flak for its antiquated notions and lack of coverage for contemporary computer offences. Less than one in five nations have changed their rules to incorporate new types of cybercrimes, according to research. But most frequently, governments have adopted various legal norms. This means that there is a chance that several laws—or none—will apply when a cybercrime is committed. To make matters worse, politicians struggle to stay up with cybercriminals who constantly come up with innovative ways to conduct crimes online.  However, there are some behaviors that everyone in the world condemns, with cybercrime being one of them.

One of the nations in the globe with widespread internet usage and technical advancement, particularly in economic activities, is Cameroon. Due to Cameroon’s widespread adoption of internet technology, there are now more security issues and crimes involving computers. Fraudulent electronic emails, identity theft, online harassment, spamming, and pornography are examples of cybercrimes. As a result, internet extortion poses a threat to Cameroonian citizens’ quality of life, economic well-being, and reputation abroad. Therefore, it is difficult to combat cybercrime in Cameroon. The Republic of Cameroon’s government promulgated the law on cyber security and cyber criminality in 2010, which regulates the security framework of electronic communication networks and information systems, in an effort to combat cybercrimes and security threats targeted at foreigners, individuals, and corporate institutions.

Despite this, internet extortion occurs in Cameroon under the guises of phishing (identity theft), bank card theft, cyber phonography, scams, software piercing, sales fraud, fraud hacking, and network service theft. The government needs to deal with issues like youth unemployment, their thirst for wealth, and ineffective security, to name a few, which are pull factors for this internet extortion in Cameroon. This gave the researcher the idea to collaborate internationally to fight cybercrime.

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