Carlos Barragán’s excerpt from 'The Yahoo Boys' tells the story of Chibuike, a young Nigerian man who turned to online romance scams after struggling with low-paying work and minor hustles.

Initially dancing in nightclubs for small tips, he observed the affluent spending habits of his clients and learned about local scammers known as 'Yahoo Boys.

' After two years of little success in various online schemes, Chibuike adopted a celebrity impersonation strategy, choosing to pose as WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes.Using careful research, fake IDs, and voice manipulation, he convinced an Irish woman named Theresa to believe he was the real Cody Rhodes.

Over several years, he extracted approximately 78,000 euros from her through gift cards and fabricated stories about financial and personal hardships.

Barragán highlights how Chibuike learned to personalize his messages, gaining trust and attention from his victim, and exploited her emotional vulnerability and loneliness.

The story exposes the psychological manipulation behind romance scams, the cultural context of Nigerian online fraud, and the extreme lengths to which scammers go to maintain control over their victims, all while achieving financial gain far beyond what traditional employment could provide in his environment.