In the crowded neighborhood of Ikotun in Lagos, Nigeria, a young man named Biggy sits in a modest room, phone in hand, building fake lives to tear down real ones.
Over ten years as a ‘Yahoo Boy,’ he estimates he has made about $30,000 from romance scams, money taken from lonely people seeking love online.
This is not a fortune by Western standards, but in his world, it represents survival, status, and the addictive pull of fast cash in a place where honest jobs often pay next to nothing.
Carlos Barragán’s new book, The Yahoo Boys: Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria’s Romance Scammers, brings Biggy’s story to life with remarkable detail.
Read also: Street children, ‘Yahoo boys’ and degenerate elders: What does the future hold?
The Spanish journalist first entered this world after his own mother nearly fell victim to a similar scam. What began as a personal
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