West Africa hosts first Cybercrime Summit

The event was hosted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Microsoft. Aimed at combating internet fraud, its long term objective is to create better conditions for West Africa's economic development.

Cybercrime, a regional priority

The summit also sought to position the fight against cybercrime as a regional priority to support economic development, build anti-fraud capacity, develop effective solutions, and showcase best practice amongst the two hundred delegates of government decision-makers, public policy advisers, lawyers, civil society, academics as well as other industry players dedicated to combating cybercrime.

Over the course of the three days a number of issues were explored including consumer awareness and education, international cooperation, legislation and how to address the most common fraudulent activities.

The summit was built upon collaborations initiated at the first international conference on advance fee fraud in October 2008, with the cooperation of the Council of Europe, International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) at this event contributing international expertise and best practice sharing in crime detection and prevention.