Project Year

2013

Region(s)

West Africa

Country(ies)

Nigeria

Project Description

This study investigates automated teller machine (ATM) fraud in southwest Nigeria, with the prime determinant of analysis relying on the perspective of the victim. The primary research questions are: How do banks cope with ATM fraud challenges? How do mobile money service providers characterise ATM fraud and their victims? The study triangulates the Victims Precipitation theory (VPT), Lifestyle theory (LT) and Routine Activity theory (RAT) to explain how ATM fraud affects its victims. VPT assumes that by acting in an incendiary fashion, some individuals initiate a chain of events that lead to their victimization. LT suggests that there are certain lifestyles that disproportionately predispose individuals for victimhood. Using a sequential exploratory strand of mixed methods, data will be collected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. This will involve compiling samples of the large pool of ATM users in the states of Lagos and Oyo in the Southwest region of Nigeria. Interviews will be conducted with victims, the police, ATM suppliers, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) staff and bank officials in charge of the ATM. Studying ATM fraud victims will give insight into factors precipitating their vulnerability. Findings from such an endeavor are therefore vital in providing preventive measures for the consumer’s protection in the future.

Researcher(s)

Oludayo Tade, Oluwatosin Adeniyi

About the Researcher(s)

Oludayo Tade teaches the sociology of deviant behavior and social problems in the Department of Sociology at the University of Ibadan. His Ph.D. thesis entitled “Household Demand and Child Trafficking for Domestic Use in Oyo State” investigated child trafficking. He was a postgraduate scholar at the University of Ibadan between 2008 and 2010. His research interests span from child labor, to cyber crime, to transactional sex, to child trafficking and family studies.

Oluwatosin Adeniyi teaches mathematical economics and applied econometrics in the Department of Economics at the University of Ibadan. His research interests include international macroeconomics, development economics, energy economics, and the economics of crime and conflicts, among others.

Synopsis of Research Results

1. Link to their full report: Automated Teller Machine Fraud in South-West Nigeria: The Shoe-wearers' Perspectives

2. Link to their blog post: Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Uses and Challenges in Southwest Nigeria