# 'The Yahoo Boys' investigates Nigeria’s network of cyber crime 'sweetheart scams'

An episode of [NPR's Book of the Day](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1587369865), 17 Jun 2026, 9:02.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510364/npr.simplecastaudio.com/c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a/episodes/154b3f20-06ed-4554-ba0e-84e4040639e4/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a&awEpisodeId=154b3f20-06ed-4554-ba0e-84e4040639e4&feed=tZrJMl4P&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5860810&p=510364&d=542&size=8688162

In 2022, journalist Carlos Barragán moved to Lagos, Nigeria to investigate a cybercrime network of text-based internet phishing, also known as “sweetheart scams." He found that a small band of young men known as the “Yahoo Boys” were creating fake avatars to lure American victims into online romances — a 21st-century iteration of the Yahoo email scams from the 1990s. Barragán, who wrote about his discoveries in The Yahoo Boys, joined NPR’s Eyder Peralta to discuss the new book, and why these cybercriminals are not actually “masterminds of the universe playing with your minds.” To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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