Nigerian Law Enforcement Agency Advised to Retrain African Cybercriminals

Online scammers and fraudsters should be retrained as information technology specialists, a Nigerian cybersecurity expert advised the nation's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Chidiebere Ihediwa, a Nigerian cybersecurity specialist, told the law enforcement agency that redirecting the knowledge and capabilities of scammers such as the so-called Yahoo boys to legitimate tech roles would be advantageous to the nation.

According to local reports, Ihediwa said educated young men among the cyber fraudsters could use their inherent knowledge for good. He argued that this is a better strategy than letting them sit in jail.

"Yahoo boys" is a term used for teenaged or young men based in West Africa conducting 419 scams and low-level phishing attacks, and who often operate under the supervision of others.