Pathways of Intention: Narratives of Future Withdrawal from Cyber Fraud Among Ghanaian Youth

Abstract As cyber fraud becomes an increasingly visible feature of informal youth economies in parts of West Africa, much remains unknown about how young offenders articulate aspirations for life beyond digital offending. This study explores the desistance intentions of Ghanaian youth engaged in cyber fraud, drawing on 50 in-depth interviews conducted across three major cyber fraud hotspots. Rather than focusing on proven behavioral exit, the research examines how participants narrate aspirations to desist, and how these intentions are shaped by social bonds, moral reflection, spiritual unease, and changing digital environments. Drawing on feminist criminology perspectives and digital criminology frameworks, the study reveals that expressed desistance intentions are often symbolic, conditional, and fraught with contradiction—where marriage, employment, or fatherhood serve as imagined turning points, but are constrained by structural precarity. The study critically examines the performative and rhetorical dimensions of these narratives, recognizing that expressed intentions may serve identity-work functions rather than signal imminent behavioral change. Notably, the study identifies cyber-specific disruptions—such as platform surveillance, client resistance, and the erosion of online fraud communities—as emerging “hooks for change” that weaken commitment to crime. By situating these dynamics within digital criminology and integrating theories of informal social control, cognitive transformation, and narrative identity, this research offers a nuanced, context-sensitive understanding of how desistance is envisioned in digital criminal careers. It challenges binary models of exit and highlights the need for policy interventions that are both digitally informed and culturally grounded.