Akunna stared at the laptop. It was a good one, a Dell he’d gotten from the Kenyan. He thumbed his phrasebook, scratched his head.
“Come give me your opinion,” he said to Chimaobi.
“I know you will be surprised at the tone of my letter to you, as I wish to send you greetings and tell you of a surprising new business relationship that is a singular opportunity of your life,” Chimaobi read from the screen.
“Is it sufficiently formal?” asked Akunna. “The sender needs to seem a man of great importance. A banker, perhaps.”
“I am not sure,” said Chimoabi. “I have never been in a bank.”
Kwento came back to the table holding a game board. “Come on, Chimo. Let’s play some Ayo.”
“What do you think, Kwento?” asked Akunna.
“It should be once in a lifetime opportunity, fool,” he said. “That is how bankers talk.”
Many undergraduates in Nigerian universities dabble in internet fraud. Nicknamed “Yahoo Boys” (pronounced Ya-oo), scamming has become a way of life for the young con-artists. The Nigerian Prince scam is seen as a crude, low-return scheme by the more experienced practitioners. They have moved on to far more sophisticated cons that employ online dating, nanny services, phishing, social media fraud and a host of other practices.
The once-ubiquitous Internet Cafe is fast disappearing from Nigeria as wireless broadband makes cyberspace more accessible to everyone, including these fraudsters.
Ha! The old Nigerian banker trick. Never fails. :D
They all have to start somewhere. There are some pretty sophisticated scams coming out of Nigeria these days. I was amazed.
How rich! At last the backstory on those emails is revealed. Wonderfully brought to life and the picture you found is priceless. Great storytelling.
Thanks! I was picturing a trio of young men with a lot of time and not much opportunity hanging around the cafe all day playing ayo and trying to figure out how to get rich.
As terrible as the practice of scamming is, I’m quite amused by the conversation, trying to imagine how bankers talk based on what sounds like hearsay alone.
Dear Josh,
Having received some of those scam emails one has to wonder. Love the scene set up. Feels authentic.
Shalom,
Rochelle
The picture you chose fits perfectly with your “scam.” I receive so many oddly phrased emails…. you captured them!
I love Kwento’s comment that it should be ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ – spot on! And, by mentioning bankers, you take a nice satirical swipe at them; ‘Are they any better than these scammers?’ you seem to be asking. Which in the aftermath of the 2008 crash is a question worth asking!
Sooo good, Josh! They have gotten better and more sophisticated indeed in their scams.
Brilliant choice of pic to go with your story.
Thanks for sharing this! I did not know anything about The Nigerian Prince scam or the Yahoo boys. I’m sure gonna read about it now.
Princes of the internet cafe! I would admire them for their hutzpah – if they weren’t doing it by swizzing innocent folk out of cash! A clearly drawn and vivid scenario, Josh. Be interested to see where these young entrepreneurs end up next
Ah, so it’s Akunna who keeps sending me all those emails. It’s nice to put a name to the “once in a lifetime opportunity” :-)
Like it. You capture the scammers very well.