Secret Things Yahoo Boys Do To Get Rich Quick

The love of money, according to the Bible, is the root of all evil. This part of the scripture points to the extent that internet fraudsters under the alias "Yahoo boys" go to make money. In desperation to join the ranks of scores of their compatriots making millions of dollars out of online scams, young Nigerian scammers, known as 'yahoo boys' have resorted to the use of traditional charms and mystical powers to control their victims.

Yahoo boys are young men —usually aged between 22-29 years—who specialize in various types of cybercrime. Many of them may be undergraduates or college dropouts whose distinct lifestyles of fast cars, wealth and ostentation is the envy of many of their age-mates. Yahoo boys are not limited by geography; the internet is their home, and their victims are diverse naive people who easily fall for get-rich-quick scams.

Yahoo boys are also adept at cyber-enabled financial fraud. A six-month operation tagged wire-wire conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service resulted in 74 arrests in the United States and overseas, including 29 in Nigeria, three in Canada, Mauritius and Poland. The operation also resulted in a recovery of nearly $2.4 million and approximately $14 million in fraudulent wire transfers. Many of these scammers in Nigeria fled to different countries like Ghana, Dubai, South Africa, the Gambia when it became apparent that they would be arrested.

Research has shown that the use of voodoo and charms for spiritual protection and possible hypnotization of potential victims are prevalent among Nigerian scammers. The practice, "Yahoo Plus", has a long and intricate history dating back many decades. In fact, another level in the use of charms is known as Yahoo Plus-Plus, which involves the use of human parts and may need kidnapping other human beings for rituals, which is not necessary for "Yahoo Plus." Yahoo Plus-Plus boys use things such as victims' fingernails, rings, carrying corpses, human body parts are not novel. Some of these conmen sleep in the cemetery, cite incantation, use their fingers for rituals, and, unbelievably, have sex with ghosts. While all these may seem like a no-brainer, it does cost the scammers a lot. Here are some of the secret things Yahoo boys do to make money

Using the power of compulsion

This ritual supposedly empowers Yahoo plus boys to command their victims, otherwise known as 'clients', to do whatever they want. A "magic honey" concoction is all they need from their respective herbalists. The concoction contains hexes and spells that compel their victims to give them whatever they ask for. It is widely believed that once this ritual is completed, the 'clients' cannot decline whatever they are asked to do. Needless to say, several individuals have used this means to demands millions of dollars from their hapless targets.

Wiping a lady's private part with a towel

You heard that right. In their quest for money, some scammers wipe moisture from a woman's private part after copulating with her. The material is then used in a ritual. Legend has it that a lot could happen to any lady who is "used" for rituals.

Bathing in a public space

Investigations have revealed that Lekki and Ikoyi environs in Lagos are highly populated by native doctors who have been brought in by their clients'. These clients are Yahoo Boys, who require their spiritualists to be nearby if their services are needed.

One day madness

While mental illness is nothing to sneer at, there have been reports of certain individuals who go mad on random days, according to the type of ritual they have overtaken. As their spiritualists do not tell them beforehand what day it will happen, they have no control over the time and place they will be struck by madness for a whole day.

If you found any of these shocking, here's more: Some Yahoo boys eat human faeces. Some bark once a month as part of a money ritual, and others kill their family members for rituals. Informal networks are vital to the young scammers' success. These networks revolve around banks, security agencies, co-fraudsters and, sometimes, families. The standard means of collecting fraudulent money in Nigeria is banks, specifically through Western Union's money transfer system. Fraudsters use fake identity to access funds and pay compromised banking staff a share of the loot. Want to learn more? Watch the video below.