There are many cases of Nigerian migrants in the UK and USA involved in scams and fraud.
Every other day there seems to be a story of Nigerian arrested or locked up for fraud or scam.
In the UK or in America, young Nigerians are going to jail for credit card scams and fraud. In August 2017, arrested a 22 year old Nigerian by the name of Abramson Abdullah Adekola for forgery.
Upper Michigan Source reported that the suspect was apprehended on Thursday, August 24, 2017, by police deputies.
The news site also disclosed that he is being "charged with receiving and concealing stolen property over $1,000 but less than $20,000", an offence expected to earn him five years behind bars.
Adekola was arrested following an investigation into an identity fraud and stolen property processing operation, the report says. This is one of many stories of Nigerians involved in fraud overseas.
According to The Independent, Nigerians and our neighbours in Ghana are responsible for almost half of the fraud in the UK.
“The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) estimates that Nigerians and Ghanaians swindle pounds 3.5bn from individuals, businesses and the Government, out of annual frauds totalling pounds 8bn,” writes the British news website. This report was published in 1997.
The 80s and 90s saw millions of Nigerians leave the country in search of a better life in Europe and in America. These two decades saw a huge increase in advanced fee fraud cases coming from Nigeria.
As part of a new class of migrants in the UK and America, a lot of Nigerians found themselves in the lower class of their host country.
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While some did menial jobs like cleaning and sweeping, others gravitated towards more illegal ways of making money.
As Internet fraud blossomed in Nigeria after the turn of the millennium, credit card scams would be on the rise in the Nigerian community overseas during this period.
Dapo Oyebanjo popularly known as D’banj sang about the credit card scam in London in 2014 on the song Mobolowowon. D’banj was associated with the JJC & 419 crew, a Hip Hop crew led by JJC who wanted to portray Nigerians in a good light because of the negative perception of them.
A decade or so later cases of fraud haven’t stopped both back home and in countries where there are strong communities of Nigerians.
For Nigerians who live abroad and are into fraudulent hustles, there is no clear cut reason why they do what they do. In the western world where there is better amenities and life is more stable, it is puzzling why Nigerians commit acts of fraud.