By Olakunle Agboola – The first attempt at introducing the Internet to Nigeria was made through the UNESCO sponsored RINAF project, in 1995. At one of the several workshops that were held to propagate the idea of the Internet, the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) was formed as a non-profit, non-governmental organisation with the primary aim and objective of promoting and facilitating access to the Internet in Nigeria.The Internet became a reality in Nigeria in the late 90’s having Obafemi Awolowo University as the first university in Nigeria to have its own VSAT internet link.
Before the advent of technological innovation that brought Internet, the financial fraudsters popularly known as 419-ners have been in operation in Nigeria especially in the commercial city of Lagos. The name ‘419’comes from the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud. This type of fraud is also referred to as advance-fee fraud. 419-ners were mainly grown-up, educated and illiterate men and women, who specialised in using fax machines to defraud unsuspected foreigners and Nigerians.
419-ners in the early 90’s were the big men and women in the society who commanded respect because of the enormous wealth at their disposal. Some of them are active in politics or seen as grand patron using their money to support politician campaigning for political offices. It is unfortunate that men of this calibre are celebrated within the society and in a well-structured society they would have been arrested and jailed.
The advent of Internet system has metamorphosed 419 into what is popularly known as Yahoo (internet scam) in Nigeria today. The youths both the undergraduates and graduates have taken this illicit business to another level using all manners of the fraudulent act to make quick money. Yahoo business became prevalent in Nigeria in the year 2000 with Internet accessibility. Youths who engage in the fraud scam are rich, having a lot of money at their disposal to club, party and womanize. They buy expensive cars, houses, jewellery and often initiate their peers into the scam.
According to Nigerian police statistics, there is an increase in the number of youths dabbling into Web fraud every day. A rich yahoo boy is a role model for the youth, they fancy his lifestyle and want to be like him. This is one of the reasons why a majority of the youths are school dropouts chasing money rather than focusing on their academics.
Yahoo boys have professionally mastered different deception techniques, which among them is phishing. This method allows acquiring any person’s private data (passwords, usernames, and credit card data). Other techniques in recent times are ATM fraud technique, SMS scam, lottery scam, e-mail mastering scam techniques, employment scam, networking scam etc. According to reliable sources, Yahoo boys do foster their shady business having allies among bank staffs. They do have them as friends so that the huge money paid into their account can be accessed and easily withdrawn without questioning. They usually help yahoo boys to commit frauds while they have their own share of the money.
Despite several arrests and convictions over the scam, Nigerian youths have continued to ply the trade in droves both at home and abroad. School dropouts to yahoo business are growing every day without feeling bad about their action. They have come to know that there are many graduates out there without a job. And not joining their league is the reason they think academics have nothing to offer. In 2004, the Nigerian government established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to combat economic and financial crimes, such as advance-fee fraud. In 2009, Nigeria’s EFCC announced that they have adopted smart technology developed by Microsoft to track down fraudulent emails.
Usually, the nature of the scam combined with the fact that many victims do not want to admit that they bought into an illegal activity, has made tracking down and apprehending these criminals difficult. Furthermore, the government of Nigeria has been slow to take action thereby leading some investigators to believe that some Nigerian government officials are involved in some of these scams. Though the government’s establishment of EFCC in 2004 has helped, there is still much to be done to combat this menace.
Internet Scam poses a strong threat to the Nigerian economy as it not only tarnishes the country’s image but it also discourages foreign investments. If drastic measures are not taken to bring about change, the image and economy of Nigeria will continue to be jeopardized. There is need to enforce laws that criminalise scams and also punish victims who fall for the scam with the notion of defrauding government authorities or individuals. The Nigerian government should also work in partnership with international cybercrime agencies with sophisticated technologies in order to investigate internet crimes as victims often have little or no success in retrieving the funds they have lost to scammers. Generating gainful employment opportunities for youths is vital to dealing with this problem. There should also be a public enlightenment campaign on the impact of internet scams on the image of Nigeria.
Generally, Nigerians are hardworking and innovative people. This sad phenomenon of internet scams is unfortunately perpetrated by just a few bad eggs within the Nigerian economy. The Nigerian government must do all within its powers to curb this ugly monster that has raised its head and it is tarnishing Nigeria’s image and destroying her economy.
