Investigation of Cybercrime Awareness and Prevention Practices Among Undergraduate Students at Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna State, North West Nigeria

Cybercrime victimisation among Nigerian university students is a growing challenge, and the gap between students' general awareness of cyber threats and their adoption of protective practices merits empirical investigation. This study investigates cybercrime awareness levels and prevention practice adoption among undergraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State. A cross-sectional survey was applied to 310 students selected through stratified random sampling across five faculties. The questionnaire assessed knowledge of common cybercrime forms (phishing, identity theft, social engineering), awareness of Nigerian Cybercrimes Act provisions, adoption of protective behaviours (strong password use, two-factor authentication, VPN use), and prior victimisation experience. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were computed in SPSS. Literature from North West Nigerian universities identifies phishing emails and social engineering through social media as the most prevalent cybercrime methods targeting students, with financial fraud and academic data theft as dominant consequences. Protection Motivation Theory provides the conceptual framework for analysing the gap between knowledge and protective behaviour adoption. Findings indicate that 71 percent of respondents demonstrated moderate to high cybercrime awareness, yet only 29 percent consistently applied multiple preventive measures, pointing to an attitude-behaviour gap. The study recommends mandatory cybersecurity modules in ABU's undergraduate curriculum, campus-wide awareness campaigns, and institutional monitoring of suspicious network activities. Keywords: cybercrime awareness, prevention practices, undergraduate students, Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna State.