Cultural differences between counterfeit practices and
other online illicit activities on social media
Student Name: Khabir Abdul-Quddus
School of Cybersecurity, Old Dominion University
CYSE 201S: Cybersecurity and the Social Sciences
Instructor Name: Diwakar Yalpi
Due Date: 4/15/26
Introduction
The article focuses primarily on the cultural side that influences illicit activities online like illegal trading of goods. The topic itself is a sign of human behavior being a crucial factor regarding cyber threats. Cyber security threats aren’t just from technical issues but also issues that social science principles like economic, psychology and sociology play a role just as important.
Social Science Connection and Research Questions, Hypothesis, and Variables
This article can heavily relate with the social science principles because it takes the social behavior of human interactions and adds cultural values to commit crime. Social learning theory plays a role in this because of social norms being influenced and the rational choice theory, were individuals that looked at the pros and cons of committing crime beforehand. The research question focused on how different cultural norms impact counterfeit activities on social media. The independent variable was knowing about how cultural background influenced social media. The dependent variable was monitoring criminal activities of counterfeit items being sold online like Air Jordan shoes being sold but the logo is not aligned but passed off as real by the seller.
Research method and Data Analysis
The methods used for research counterfeit online across different cultures were the quantitative method. This method is a chart that compares both characteristics and an overview of the items sold along with the account information of each seller. This chart helps with compiling data with culture and online activities. The type of data that was analyzed were account metrics being of each fake item being sold, which is important for this article.
Course Connection Concepts
The presentations we have learned in class talk about social norms like psychological, how victims behavior interacts with making purchases for items they didn’t know that was fake. The economy plays a role in this due to fake items being sold and are cheaper than real items online. The concepts that we learned about in class relate to cybersecurity because instead of just learning about the technical issues, counterfeit items being sold by criminals is a sign of understanding human behavior to mitigate future attackers.
Contribution to Society and Marginalized Groups
This article focused on how marginalized groups are involved with counterfeit items because of cultural economic downfalls. In most cultures around the world, depending on their economic income, they have no choice but to turn crime due to no better opportunities. Cultural policies need to rework into giving social standards rather than just punishing bad behavior. The contribution that this article proved to society is that policies need to improve to better understand different circumstances depending on cultural influences. Cybersecurity can focus on strategies that can prevent crimes from counterfeiting online by just spreading awareness.
Conclusion
This article highlights how cybersecurity relates to social science principles because of how cyber crime can happen through social media. Cybersecurity strategies like awareness on counterfeit schemes online, so we can mitigate cyber crime from happening to people. As a student, I always think that cybersecurity will always improve as well as social science principles, but if we can grasp an understanding of why human behavior is a big factor, then we can prevent more victims both mentally and financially.
Article used
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https://cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/a