Integrating The Implication of Cybercrime Occurrences in Nigeria on Nigerian Students’ External Image: A Study on Selected States in the United States of America

Abstract

With romance scams, the pervasive cybercrime in Nigeria known as "419" schemes fools victims into paying money and divulging personal information. The result is significant financial loss, mental anguish, and damage to one's reputation globally. A country's social cohesiveness is seriously threatened by this degraded reputation, which also jeopardises its status, credibility, and recognition internationally. A study examines the effects of cybercrime on Nigerian students enrolled in US universities, focusing on Texas, Maryland, and New York. Manifest and latent function theory are used in the research together with quantitative analysis and causal inference. A sample size of 400 was obtained through non-probability sampling techniques, such as purposeful and snowballing methods. Partial Least Square analysis confirms a weak but positive relationship (path coefficient of 0.294) between cybercrime in Nigeria and the external image of Nigerian students, accounting for 8.1% of variance. The findings indicate a negative perception of Nigeria overseas, and to mitigate such impacts, data protection, cyber security, and ethics education should be integrated into Nigerian higher education.