´If I´m sorry, how I gotta get money?´
A single mother of three, the mother of Carlos Barragán attempted to find new love again. Through a dating app, she ´met´ a love interest that proved to be a scam who wanted her money. Barragán is using this personal experience to document an overwhelming phenomenon of dating scams, that I had the chance more than once to touch upon and share through nonfictional and fictional accounts.
The Yahoo Boys. Real Life with the Love Scammers of Lagos (Yahoo boys because of the email provider usually used by the scammers) is the result of the author´s experience of months living and talking with the scammers. Mostly young men - but also few women - they mostly operate individually, driven by the need of a glamorous life, where success is weighted by the power of pursuing white victims.
Barragán offers an unique insight into the world and mind of people involved in scamming. Although the victims´ stories are playing an important role in the story, the reasons and ways of acting of the actors is more relevant. For both sides, there is a certain depth of the loneliness that Barragán is aptly outlining. It is a cruel world and although it is possible to stay afloat and avoid turning on the wrong side, sometimes it may be just easier.
This book is an important investigation in the world of scams, a reference for any further discussions on the topic. It reads both as a real crime story and a testimony of contemporary life. Some of the stories shared are so sad that sometimes needed a break in-between to collect my thoughts.
Rating: 5 stars
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