Lionnel Yamentou Nigerian Scam, Fraudsters

I am no stranger to Nigerian scams, that is besides getting the occasional Nigerian prince scam email. Back in the early 2000s when I was running the hosting and web design company Speedata Web Technologies in Ghana, I had quite a few customers who unbeknownst to me were running classic scams to unsuspecting victims. As a technology service provider, I knew that the service I was providing could be used with malicious intent, and I always took prompt action to terminate suspicious accounts once they were reported or identified.

It was with great sadness that I heard about the news of about 80 Nigerians charged in cyberfraud conspiracy to steal millions (https://abc7chicago.com/fbi-busts-nigerian-scammers-80-charged-in-massive-cyberfraud-conspiracy/5486947/). A few of my relatives have come close to falling victim of such scams in the past. It is unfortunate that some of us in Africa use such unlawful ways to provide for themselves and their loved ones. One’s wealth should never come a someone else’s expense, that’s why the Sackler Family took so much heat for their involvement in the US opioid crisis.

Just as in the story of the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady can win the race.