The Romance Scammer Who Made a Small Fortune Posing as a WWE Superstar
This article previews a book about the rise of 'Yahoo Boys' in Nigeria, focusing on the personal journey of a young man who turns to online romance scams. It highlights the intersection of local economic desperation and the global reach of internet-based fraud.
Why it matters
It provides a humanizing look at the perpetrators of cybercrime, illustrating how digital platforms can facilitate organized fraud in impoverished regions.
Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story For the first edition of WIRED Book Club , we ve chosen Carlos Barragán’s The Yahoo Boys: Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria’s Romance Scammers. Barragán took an old-school shoe-leather approach to a very online subject, flying to Lagos to embed himself with a group of young, desperate grifters. The account he brings back is a funny, sad, enraging read about how the internet can fuel heartbreak. Below is a preview of one of our favorite passages.
The reporting is descriptive and narrative-focused, presenting the subject matter without overt political framing.
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