The impact of fraud on victims is very important as it is similar to the
impact of other crimes on those affected. Victim’s reaction to fraud differs:
victims sometimes loose trust in their own judgment and also they lose
trust in others; the victim feels a sense of betrayal especially if the
perpetrator(s) is someone they know. Also, due to fear of criticism, they
sometimes hesitate to tell family members, friends or colleagues about their
victimization. Fraud can destroy victims’ financial security; sometimes that of
loved ones. However, not everyone has the same reaction: for some people,
the reaction may even be delayed for some days, weeks or even months,
recovering from fraud can be a difficult experience after a personal experience
of this kind. This study investigates the factors that determine how fraud victims
react in Covenant University Community, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The
snowball sampling technique was adopted to select 202 undergraduates of
Covenant University, who have been defrauded in one form or the other. The
survey questionnaire instrument of data collection was used to elicit responses
from the respondents. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistical tools.
Findings show that age, sex, level of education, marital status and employment
status have significant relationship with victim’s willingness to report when
defrauded. It is recommended that public enlightenment programmes be
established to educate the masses on the positive outcome of reporting fraud by
victims, thereby building a knowledgeable economy to tackle fraud perpetration.
Keywords- Fraud Victims, Crime P revention, Kn owl e d g e Ec o n omy