The Efficacy of cybercrime detection and prevention strategies employed by retailers in Zimbabwe. A Case study of Bindura CBD.

Abstract

The rapid adoption of digital payment systems in Zimbabwe’s retail sector has outpaced the development of adequate cybercrime defences, leaving small retailers in secondary urban centres increasingly exposed to financial losses and operational disruptions. This study evaluated the efficacy of cybercrime detection and prevention strategies employed by retailers in Bindura Central Business District. Specifically, the study sought to identify the cybercrime detection and prevention strategies currently in use, to evaluate their efficacy in mitigating financial losses and protecting daily operations, to identify the challenges hindering their implementation, and to recommend strategies to strengthen cybersecurity within the retail sector. A mixed-methods research design was adopted, combining structured questionnaires administered to 25 respondents across five retail categories with semi-structured interviews conducted with 7 purposively selected key informants. The study was underpinned by Routine Activity Theory, Rational Choice Theory, and the Theory of Technology-Enabled Crime. Findings revealed that Point of Sale system protection and employee cybersecurity awareness training were the most widely adopted strategies, while password management and mobile money transaction verification remained the least consistently applied due to shared credentials and queue pressure during peak trading. Employee training and POS protection were rated most effective in reducing fraud incidents, whereas password management and mobile money verification were rated ineffective by the majority of respondents. The key challenges identified were the high cost of security technology, unreliable internet connectivity and load shedding, a shortage of skilled ICT personnel, and the absence of formal written security policies. The study concludes that the dominant failure mode in Bindura retailers is not the absence of cybersecurity tools but the collapse of consistent human guardianship under operational pressure a pattern corroborated by all three theoretical frameworks. It is recommended that the Government of Zimbabwe introduce subsidised cybersecurity support for small retailers under the Cyber and Data Protection Act, that Bindura University of Science Education and the Bindura Business Chamber collaborate to deliver structured annual cybersecurity capacity-building programmes, and that retailers formalise written cybersecurity policies and embed transaction verification as a non-negotiable point-of-sale step.