Rise in crypto related scam in Nigeria what is the course

[btcltcdigger]

Don't get me wrong, and please don't take my comment as any means of racism, but i'm not surprised at all.
Sadly, 9 out of 10 people that have tried scamming me in Crypto were in fact, of Nigerian origin.
I'm sure it's not a mentality, but maybe poverty issue

Can you please tell how you realized they were Nigerians.

Can you tell what will be the chance of them being some other AF countries aside Nigerians?

Poverty eh, we might be a developing country but aside that i do not see us being retched and poverty strike like you think, with the efforts from an average Nigeria meeting his needs, in some countries that will be enough to guarantee a better standard of living. Our mentality are straight, we work rightly for what we want only there are few who also want more than they should have and chooses to skip the process, I think there are worst scammers in countries than they are in Nigeria, let's forget about google rankings and be true to ourselves.

Actually yes i can. Most of the time when i have time to "play with them" i end up exposing their connection and their IP, and like i said, 9 out of 10 times it's from Nigeria.
Heck, one time i managed to turn on the guys phone camera see his face. (yes, i know, the face doesn't tell me he is from Nigeria, but his phone location certainly does)

[aoluain]

IMO its down to a lack of education and can happen in any country. I myself was
scammed a few years ago through a HYIP site purely because I was not educated,
I never heard of these sites before and the deal looked very promising, actually
too good to be true more like.

So anyone with limited means will always look to improve their situation but sometimes
they get scammed. Its a sad state of affairs because these people are the last who
can afford to get scammed.

[NotATether]

Nigeria gets memed a lot for its large amount of crypto scammers and 'nigerian prince schemes' that make all the honest people who live there look bad.

Although scammers can really come from anywhere, but particularly the scam rings are to be found in poorer countries. It is more likely you find a scamming base in Cambodia than in the USA, for example.

[Lucius]

Poverty is a cause.  The other is that Bitcoin can be used wrong and no Government can do any thing besides investigating and arresting the bad people.  The third is probably that being in Nigeria is like a waiver of laws.  What happens to a Nigerian if they scam a United States resident?  Or an European?  If the sums involved are billions, maybe a proper investigation is launched.  But even then, I do not know how much can be done about it.

That's just one of the reasons - but if you take poverty as the main motivating factor, which is why Nigeria is always in focus when it comes to scams, why isn't the same happening with other poor countries in Africa? Maybe it's because of the large population that Nigeria has and the fact that it has a very young population, but maybe a lot of scammers are just pretending to be from Nigeria because they have obviously become someone who is the easiest to stick such a label on.

The situation is similar with the agenda that all major hacks come from North Korea, as if there are no hackers in the rest of the world.

[Igebotz]

That's just one of the reasons - but if you take poverty as the main motivating factor, which is why Nigeria is always in focus when it comes to scams, why isn't the same happening with other poor countries in Africa? Maybe it's because of the large population that Nigeria has and the fact that it has a very young population, but maybe a lot of scammers are just pretending to be from Nigeria because they have obviously become someone who is the easiest to stick such a label on.

The situation is similar with the agenda that all major hacks come from North Korea, as if there are no hackers in the rest of the world.

Every African who was exposed either identified as Nigerian or was identified as such by the media, thus the cycle continues. The example you provided about North Korea is perfect; at this point, all crypto hackers hide under the country's guise, and all hacks are associated with the Lazarus group, while it's possible that other dangerous groups outside of North Korea are carrying out the entire scheme.

Poverty and a severe lack of jobs are major contributors to the romantic scams that are prevalent in several West African nations.

[Yucky]

The crypto scam scheme is not only Nigerian, it spans across different countries Maybe it's more rampant in some countries than the others I guess that's why people call Nigerian more.

But there is this thing with identifying opportunity and hopping on it, I feel that's what crypto scammers are doing but it's now the negative direction, that moment when crypto is on the increase, a lot of people are trying to tap into it, both the meme coins, the alt coin and holding Bitcoin. So now scamers see an increase in individuals getting into the crypto space and they are now making use of the opening but in the negative direction.

For whatever reason it can be poverty, it can be greed or the bad economic situations in different countries.  We are advised to safeguard our digital assets very well and be careful how you let people know your seed phrase or handle your devices where you holding your coins.

[Lucius]

Every African who was exposed either identified as Nigerian or was identified as such by the media, thus the cycle continues. The example you provided about North Korea is perfect; at this point, all crypto hackers hide under the country's guise, and all hacks are associated with the Lazarus group, while it's possible that other dangerous groups outside of North Korea are carrying out the entire scheme.

When you look at the situation, it seems perfect - because you have a country that is on the black list, which almost no one trusts, and therefore it is an ideal culprit that cannot defend itself. It never seemed to me that their hackers were that capable, especially since the internet is a high privilege in that country and such skills are hard to find.

Poverty and a severe lack of jobs are major contributors to the romantic scams that are prevalent in several West African nations.

Maybe it's just my opinion, but it seems to me that the real paradise for romantic scams is the Philippines and Indonesia, considering the news coming from that part of the world.

Hundreds rescued from love scam centre in the Philippines

[taufik123]

Poverty is a cause.  The other is that Bitcoin can be used wrong and no Government can do any thing besides investigating and arresting the bad people.  The third is probably that being in Nigeria is like a waiver of laws. 

Poverty is widespread and not just in Nigeria, Fraud is always happening everywhere with different intensities.
Developing countries like Korea, China and some other countries commit premeditated scams and they don't even go undetected and make it seem as if people from other countries are doing it. They are syndicates that commit fraud professionally.

Nigerian poeple are in their local board, if you're more interested in our replies, you know where to look- this post is more appropriate there.

The biggest crypto scammers, biggest crypto hackers are all associated/linked to North Korea it has nothing to do with Nigerians. I don't know what you want to achieve with this post but you're clearly misinformed.

Yes, the OP should have provided the reference link that he read because he had made the assumption that Nigeria was the biggest fraudster.
Scams are actually spread across different countries as crypto has become easier to use as a fraud tool anonymously and very quickly to remove traces.

Maybe it's just my opinion, but it seems to me that the real paradise for romantic scams is the Philippines and Indonesia, considering the news coming from that part of the world.
Hundreds rescued from love scam centre in the Philippines

I live in Indonesia and romantic scams like this happen to people who are indeed lacking in digital literacy, they don't know that random people who contact them with handsome and beautiful photos will just trap and extort their money.

Indonesia is not the perpetrator, but the victim of romantic scams and this often happens, because I have seen some people in the area who are affected by this kind of seduction and those people are from India, China and some people from Saudi Arabia (It is not clear about their status)

[Coyster]

I don't know why you are talking about crypto scam and highlighting Nigeria, there are crypto scammers all over the world and what statistics do you have to back up your claim that there is a rise in crypto scammers from Nigeria. There are crypto scammers in the U.S., in Europe and in Asia, you should talk about the rise in crypto scam without calling out Nigerians and then the discussion will make a whole lot of sense.

[Faisal2202]

The biggest crypto scammers, biggest crypto hackers are all associated/linked to North Korea it has nothing to do with Nigerians. I don't know what you want to achieve with this post but you're clearly misinformed.

You are right I also think this post should be on the local board, as the locals can give better replies. I skipped this thread the first day to get an idea of what Nigerians think about it, as I thought within a day or two the post would be moved there. You are right NK hackers and scammers stole more than 2 billion dollars in 2024 alone. They are the biggest scammers and hackers.

But there will often be obstacles here too. There is no place where you can get a job on a legal basis, and here various ideas for fraud appear. The fact that people are often deceived, especially in the crypto environment, speaks of the low level of education of the deceived, and those who deceive, having once gained such experience, will regularly use it.
The reason for numerous scammers from poor countries is always a bad economy. People will not commit crimes if they have a good life. I still believe that most of these scammers are just surviving, and of course, it is very unfortunate that they cross the line of decency.

At first, they do it for basic needs but with time and with success, it becomes their passion. I am not talking about Nigerian scammers alone as I am speaking of all the scammers out there. After getting no jobs they look online, and most of the time without proper guidance they fall into the wrong hands too, (not all as some chose this path on purpose). They don't realize the work they are doing can be spamming, for example, call center scams are world-famous, and few countries are on top of it (I won't name any).

The point is, I once went for a call center job interview. it was my first hunting for a job, so I went there, and the person asked me to read the script as English is not my first language and I did not know what was their agenda, he said we sell some TV receiver service and sell the device. he said I have to talk to the customer and ask them few questions, like where they live, their DOB, pet name etc. etc. They said you have to write down all the things on a note and provide it to us during the call and if we succeed in getting the password, we will force them to buy some subscription to TV. Well, it was my first time, but I was not dumb haha, I knew they would force blackmail them for money or maybe cancel some subscriptions. Well, I left the place after I realized this was just a scam job to scam others. A month or two later, the person left the city due to legal issues (gladly).

The hype of getting a job in a poor country where you cannot find a job easily, and once you find one where you don't have to be a construction worker, dishwasher, or waiter but have to sit in an AC room in front of the screen, you just don't come to get second thought, as you think they have this big company setup, how come they can be a fraud? Therefore we must give proper education to everyone to devote their love towards their country by not doing such things and how to avoid such scam jobs where you have to scam others.

After this come those who are just after money, and they just want to make money, for them I have no words, as Logitech explained it better.

[Rruchi man]

Sadly, 9 out of 10 people that have tried scamming me in Crypto were in fact, of Nigerian origin.

Unfortunately, you have been meeting the wrong Nigerians, as there are many other Nigerians who are very credible in business and any other dealing and will not try to scam you.

Crypto related scams are not peculiar to Nigerians; there are people from other countries like India, China, Brazil, Pakistan, South Africa, Romania, the Philippines, etc. that are heavily involved in cyber criminal activities, even more sophisticated than what Nigerians do.

The media has sold to the market and world that Nigeria is filled with scammers and fraudsters, but that is a lie.

[btcltcdigger]

Sadly, 9 out of 10 people that have tried scamming me in Crypto were in fact, of Nigerian origin.

Unfortunately, you have been meeting the wrong Nigerians, as there are many other Nigerians who are very credible in business and any other dealing and will not try to scam you.

Crypto related scams are not peculiar to Nigerians; there are people from other countries like India, China, Brazil, Pakistan, South Africa, Romania, the Philippines, etc. that are heavily involved in cyber criminal activities, even more sophisticated than what Nigerians do.

The media has sold to the market and world that Nigeria is filled with scammers and fraudsters, but that is a lie.

And i completely agree with you on that. Maybe it's just been my bad luck, maybe it's just the circle i'm in.
But i agree as stated above, india is also very high in crypto scammers. And when i say india, i mean the bordering countries as well

[Igebotz]

Poverty and a severe lack of jobs are major contributors to the romantic scams that are prevalent in several West African nations.

Maybe it's just my opinion, but it seems to me that the real paradise for romantic scams is the Philippines and Indonesia, considering the news coming from that part of the world.

Hundreds rescued from love scam centre in the Philippines

I think Philippines and USA citizens are mostly victims.

Countries with high divorce rates, single motherhood, and sociality without love are always the target for these romance scammers - there are a lot of single parents in the United States and the Philippines.

[Judith87403]

It's no news that our country Nigeria is one country that has been always linked with scam and criminals related activities online but things has gotten to a new level with the emergence of crypto currency especially Bitcoin which has become popular in the world especially in Nigeria

And with many people trying to benefits from the crypto space as it has a lot of profit potential when it comes to investments especially Bitcoin which has continued to soar higher every day that passes

But one big challenge we are faced with in the crypto space is scam because people fall into the trap of these scammers almost on a daily basis it's worst in our beloved country Nigeria has scammers has really find a way into the crypto space

This got me thinking what could be the course of this why are people falling into more scams and why is scam on the rise in Nigeria because with the way things are now immediately your identified as a Nigerian in social media platforms online as a Nigerian you are suspected to be a scammer

Make una talk una mind my Nigerian people ?

Obviously, I think the reason why the rate of scammers keep increasing every day by day in nigeria perhaps not only in nigeria but in other countries as well is due to poverty and also lack of employment. however, this also happens in other countries but rather they don't like showing their selves for the world to know about their scamming rate they just do it in such a way that no one is going to know about it. you know most of the scamming cases that has been happening in the Media lately I'm pretty sure that it wasn't only Nigerians alone that is involved in all that, if you make a proper investigation you will find out that other countries also have a hand in most of  the scamming cases that is happening all this while in social media, the only issues with Nigerians is that they always rap it round their neck.

[btcltcdigger]

Lately, at least in this part of Europe, old people have been targets and victims of various crypto scammers.
They pose as investment companies and call senior citizens, offering them quick returns on their investments.
And the sad part is, many fall for it

[Miles2006]

I really don’t have much to say as most people will think is as a result of poverty or economy challenge. This is all false, scam practice is general and it can happen at any time not minding the location or country as mentioned. Don’t get this wrong firstly social media is an open space so why bring your crypto investment outside definitely scammers will always come but, generalizing scam practice as a common practice in Nigeria is false. Till date I still don’t know what country generate the highest scammers because I don’t care instead pratice a safety method.

[nakamura12]

My guess as to why this happened is because of poverty. As you may have guessed, it's not just Nigeria who scam people but also other people who are not nigerian. India is also a country with many scammers not just in cryptocurreny alone. You might be unlucky since you met a nigerian who is a scammer but I think there should be a person who isn't a scammer. Greed is also one of the reason why people start to scam people no matter what the ethnicity it is.

[lee278701]

As far as I know, 9 out of 10 people that have tried scamming me in Nigerian origin , eg. All kinds of stories let me pay their Nigerian bank accounts.
Search the sumsub scam, Nigerian have 90% of them.

[SatoPrincess]

It's no news that our country Nigeria is one country that has been always linked with scam and criminals related activities online but things has gotten to a new level with the emergence of crypto currency especially Bitcoin which has become popular in the world especially in Nigeria

And with many people trying to benefits from the crypto space as it has a lot of profit potential when it comes to investments especially Bitcoin which has continued to soar higher every day that passes

But one big challenge we are faced with in the crypto space is scam because people fall into the trap of these scammers almost on a daily basis it's worst in our beloved country Nigeria has scammers has really find a way into the crypto space

This got me thinking what could be the course of this why are people falling into more scams and why is scam on the rise in Nigeria because with the way things are now immediately your identified as a Nigerian in social media platforms online as a Nigerian you are suspected to be a scammer

Make una talk una mind my Nigerian people ?

Looks like the OP was trying to make this post in the Nigerian local board. This is definitely not the appropriate board for this topic and I'm surprised the moderators haven't moved it yet.
Scams are most popular in poor countries. A country where 50% of it's population are living in poverty and opportunities are limited, it is not surprising that financial crimes is rampant in that society.

[promise444c5]

My guess as to why this happened is because of poverty. As you may have guessed, it's not just Nigeria who scam people but also other people who are not nigerian. India is also a country with many scammers not just in cryptocurreny alone. You might be unlucky since you met a nigerian who is a scammer but I think there should be a person who isn't a scammer. Greed is also one of the reason why people start to scam people no matter what the ethnicity it is.

Poverty is just one of the reasons but look around where can iyou identify or point out without scams(I.e none of the citizen of such  countries practice scam). Even in some cases the both the scammer and victim are both greeedy.
We are in the age where social media is promoting a lot of negative stuffs, Teens believing school is trash, Everyone wants a luxury life , no one wants a 9-5 job because they believe they can never get to buy their dream cars , house and alll they ever wanted…, everyone wants a “get rich quick scheme”… Not saying we don’t have people who still think otherwise but  it’s increasing these days.