Most people don’t know how Yahoo Yahoo started, Below is the history of how Yahoo Yahoo started.

There was a time in Nigeria where the “Yahoo Yahoo” terminology did not exist. Online impersonation was something that nobody heard of. But somewhere along the late 90s and early 2000s, some young boys clustered within cybercafes in Lagos and Benin City stumbled upon something that would change the game forever.

They knew that foreigners were too dependent on the internet. In America, Canada, and Europe at that time, everyone believed what they read in an email. Nobody was considering that the other side of the globe would be able to fool them.

And so it started.

THE FIRST YAHOO BOYS – HOW DID THEY START

The original Yahoo Boys weren’t the showy ones we know today cruising in Benz and sporting Gucci. They were clever, reserved, and diligent.
They were mostly young men in their early 20s who hung out in cybercafés for hours.
They shared a single mission: track down gullible whites and convince them of a false tale.
They referred to it as “419” — named after section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, which makes fraud a crime.

At that time, the easiest way to scam people was through email. And the most popular email service then was Yahoo Mail. That is how the phrase “Yahoo Yahoo” came about.

The first scam they came up with was the “Nigerian Prince Scam.”

WHY DID FOREIGNERS FALL FOR THE NIGERIAN PRINCE SCAM?

This is where it gets interesting. You may be thinking, “How can you just believe an email from a stranger?” But at the time, people were not internet literate.
The internet was new, and people still trusted strangers.
Most Westerners believed that Africans were quite rich in oil, diamonds, and gold.
Hollywood movies had imagined Nigeria and Africa as the countries of rich princes and kings who lived in palaces.

Therefore, when a foreigner got an email that said:

Hi, I am Prince Adekunle from Nigeria. My king father passed away and left me $20 million inheritance. However, I would like you to assist me transfer the money into your country. If you help me get $5,000 to facilitate the transfer, I will give you 20% of the cash.

They took it for a fact.

Nigeria, in their minds, was a country of rich princes and oil billionaires who just needed a little something.
And that’s how the scam worked. As soon as the victim wired the first money, the scammer would ask for more, and more, and more.

Some lost their entire life savings to these emails.

THE SWITCH TO ROMANCE SCAMS – HOW NIGERIAN SCAMMERS STARTED PLAYING WITH EMOTIONS.

By the early 2000s, people started getting smarter. Spam filters on email improved, and fewer people were becoming victims of the Nigerian Prince scam.

That’s when Yahoo Boys changed pace.
Instead of posing as a prince or a businessman, they started posing as a lover.

They created fake profiles on dating websites and targeted:

Divorced women looking for company.
Lonely widows.
Affluent older women.
They would text them sweet messages, refer to them as “baby,” and make them feel special. They would then stage a false emergency after weeks of conversation.

Baby, I need to come see you, but I don’t have the fare.”

“Sweetheart, I got into an accident, and I need $2,000 for medical bills.”

“My business opportunity is stalled, but if you send me $10,000, I will pay you back double.”

The majority of the women sent thousands of dollars unaware that it was all a scam.

One woman in the U.S. sold her house believing she was helping her online boyfriend. She was homeless by the time she discovered the truth.

HOW SCAMMERS BECAME CELEBRITIES – THE ‘GBOGBO BIG BOYS’ ERA

Before social media, Yahoo Boys were lowkey. They scammed people quietly and enjoyed their money in peace.

But all that changed with the arrival of Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Yahoo Boys started flaunting their wealth.

They bought expensive cars, luxury watches, and designer clothes.

They started hanging out with celebrities in clubs.

Yahoo Yahoo became a lifestyle. But at a sinister cost.

THE DARK SIDE – YAHOO PLUS & MONEY RITUALS

With the scamming world becoming more competitive, Yahoo Boys started looking for “spiritual help.”

Some started visiting traditional doctors to confer on them “supernatural powers” to make their victims send money faster.

Others started offering sacrifices — sacrificing goats, cows, and even human blood.

The worst were ritual murders.

Yahoo Plus existed.

Some scammers utilized their girlfriends for sacrifices.

Some killed relatives to “renew” their money charm.

Some slept in coffins, took a bath in rivers, or engaged crazy rituals to “blow.”

Yahoo Yahoo was no longer blood money — it was an internet scam.

THE BIG CRACKDOWN – WHY YAHOO YAHOO IS DYING

By 2019, the Nigerian authorities and global agencies started closing in.

The U.S. FBI launched “Operation Wire Wire” and arrested over 70 Nigerian scammers.

Hushpuppi, Nigeria’s biggest “big boy,” was arrested in Dubai and jailed.

EFCC started raiding hotels, nightclubs, and even university hostels, arresting Yahoo Boys.

Suddenly, flaunting online was dangerous. Share your new Benz and EFCC would be at your doorstep.

Banks also started tracking dubious transactions, lowering the convenience for scammers to send money.

Today, Yahoo Yahoo is no longer so easy as before. Many youths are turning to crypto scams, forex scams, or quitting altogether.

I’M SURE AT THIS POINT YOU KNOW THE TALE OF HOW YAHOO YAHOO CAME TO BE?

Hope you picked something up from this?

Do we blame the government for Yahoo Yahoo, or are humans greedier?

Would Yahoo Boys be engaging in this if there were decent opportunities and jobs in Nigeria?

Will the next generation still seek money fast, or are they learning from the fall of Hushpuppi and others?

RELATED TOPIC: HERE IS A LIST OF THE TOP  10 LATEST RICHEST YAHOO BOYS YOU DONT KNOW THEY ARE IN 2025

 

RELATED QUESTIONS PEOPLE TEND TO ASK JUST TO KNOW HOW TO IDENTIFY YAHOO YAHOO BOYS WHEN EVER THE COME ACROSS THEM ONLINE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.

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