The name yahoo yahoo boy has become a household name. It simply refers to criminals who indulge in advance fee fraud schemes or involve in internet crime. These yahoo boys enjoy status of big boys in the society and are socially recognized among their friends and anywhere you see yahoo boys, other boys that are not involved in the crime will want to associate with them due to their flamboyant life style. Internet fraudsters are mostly youths between the ages of 18-35 years. This may be due to the early exposure of the young ones to the activities on the internet without proper guidance. I think that is the reason why cyber crime is more among that age bracket.


The increasing rates of internet fraud in the society have become a strong threat to Nigeria growth and has led to ill- reputation intentionally and consequently denied some innocent Nigerians certain opportunities abroad. In most Nigeria tertiary institutions, various form of crimes are being witnessed ranging from examination malpractices, falsification of admission, rape, robbery and stealing, sexual abuse, assault amongst others. But in recent times internet fraud a new form of crime now exists in our tertiary institutions which is denting and drilling holes in the economy of the nation. In the case of email, sometimes it comes in form of marriage proposal, unclaimed fund, donation, lottery, help, bonanza, bank transaction notification / credit alert etc. Some of the youths send many of such scam emails everyday while others send more to increase their chances of getting victims that will fall to their prey.


The trend has, however, advanced beyond the ordinary internet fraud level to what is generally known as Yahoo Plus, Oracle Plus Plus or Yahoo Extra. This new trend is the latest fad among unscrupulous youths and an elevated form of the traditional modes of Internet fraud. Some use small tortoise, which they keep under their feet whenever they are chatting on laptops with victims. Their fingertips also bear incisions and a charm-filled animal horn prepared by their spiritualists. Some also go as far as sleeping in the cemetery and bathing in a river and even use their opposite sex to brighten their chances of getting the maga hypnotised. Once this is done, the victim is guaranteed of remitting money to the Swindler's account regularly from any part of the world.


However, cyber crime is not limited to men, some ladies are also into the act. They start by sending their nude pictures to unsuspecting victims all in the name of unemployment and poverty. The mind-boggling question is this "Is internet fraud the solution to unemployment and poverty in Nigeria? What are the solutions to internet fraud which is rampant in the lives of the Nigerian youths and the society at large?
The youths should realize that internet fraud has repercussion which could destroy their future, Our youths should be optimistic about the situation of our country. They should shun the belief that " Nigeria cannot get better, youths should also discover their talent through skill acquisition programs. We should all have a total change of heart by having the fear of God in our heart and believing that one day we will meet our creator to give account of how we spent our life. Thank you for reading.
Signed:
Omosule Abimbola Lawrence
08102320310.