Robin Hood or Robbing Lives? How Scammers Try to Justify Their Crimes

Is it Robin Hood or Robbing Lives? Learn how scammers try to justify their crimes in this post. 

Cybercrime is on the rise. Since the year 2000, the FBI has received over 9 million reports of cybercrime. 4.2 million of these reports came after the year 2020. The total losses over that second span reached $50.5 billion.

Some individuals are more vulnerable to these attacks, but nobody is immune to them. In order to avoid a cybercriminal, it’s important to understand why they do what they do.

Keep reading for a deep dive into who cybercriminals are, the factors that lead them to scam others online, and why they believe it's acceptable.

The Creation of a Cybercriminal 

Contrary to popular belief, people are not born inherently bad. The circumstances around an individual and their personal experiences largely shape who they become. To illustrate this, let’s meet Bobby. Bobby is a fictional person, but his story is based on real, documented stories of those who have gone down a similar cybercrime path. 

Bobby lives in a hostile nation. His government has overspent on a war that has divided the public and left the country’s economy in shambles. Bobby watches his parents go to work for long hours and earn a meager pay. Like many, his family is struggling to trust the government and system that has failed to financially protect its citizens. 

Meanwhile, a select few in his area have begun flexing luxury items and wealth unimaginable to Bobby. He’s not sure exactly how these people have made their money, but he knows he wants in on it. He begins to follow them across social media and emulates their advice to a tee. For the first time in his life, Bobby has a sense of optimism about his future. 

Why Do They Turn to Cybercrime?  

Understanding why cybercrime persists is critical to combatting the issue. There are numerous factors that lead people to take an illicit online path. These variables don’t excuse the harm that is done, but they help paint a picture of the cybercrime landscape. The battle against cybercrime requires more than just reform. It’s also necessary to attack the root causes. 

Desperate Circumstances 

Like Bobby, many cybercriminals come from areas of the world that are struggling financially. Only two of the top five countries on the World Cybercrime Index have a gross domestic product per capita above the world average. 

Nigeria ranks fifth on the index and is widely known as a global hotspot for cybercrime. Its economy ranks poorly in all socioeconomic indicators, including health, income, life expectancy, education, employment, and criminal investigations. The unemployment rate is 23.1%, over half of which are young people. 40.1% of Nigerians — roughly 83 million people — are living in poverty. 

Left in dire straits with uncertainty surrounding the country's financial sector, many turn to cybercrime. This has only worsened Nigeria’s economy, leading to layoffs in the banking industry. These positions have been filled by inexperienced workers who are more susceptible to criminals. Some are even scammers themselves. 

This violent cycle has only perpetuated the problems in Nigeria. It damages the country's external reputation and accounts for nearly $500 million in annual losses internally. To make matters worse, cybercrime is responsible for an average of 40% of the total fraud committed in the Nigerian banking sector.

Glorification of Cybercriminals 

As seen in Bobby’s country, many places around the world struggle with cybercriminal “Influencers”. One of the most well-known groups of glorified scammers are the “Yahoo Boys” in Nigeria. They take to social media to flaunt their riches, recruit new scammers, and distribute training material.  

These posts are viewed by many, with some Yahoo boys acquiring millions of followers and views. In 2024, Meta announced the removal of 63,000 accounts connected to the Yahoo Boys across their platforms. These are just the accounts that were caught, and unfortunately, it's extremely easy to open new accounts online.  

This social media reach has a large influence. Numerous Nigerian university students see these posts and participate in Yahoo Boy scams to finance their education. Some even view it as a more promising prospect than post-educational employment. This way of thinking is compounded when they look around and see hard workers struggling while scammers reap the rewards.

Lack of Harsh Penalties 

In 2015, Nigeria passed the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act. The penalties for the different crimes under the act range from three to seven years in prison or fines between ₦5 million and ₦10 million. 

The issue with this is that the value of the Nigerian Naira has significantly decreased in the years since. The same ₦5 million that was worth roughly $27,500 in 2015 is now only valued at $3,335. 

Most cybercriminals collect their proceeds in the form of U.S. dollars. This means that their cashout remains the same, but the potential penalty is significantly lower in relation. The act was amended in 2024, but alterations to penalties changed primarily in scope and not harshness. 

Robin Hood Ideology 

For many cybercriminals, their actions are internally justified by necessity. Many view themselves as some form of twisted, modern-day “Robin Hoods.” They steal from the citizens of wealthy countries and keep the proceeds for themselves. 

As seen in cases, such as the ones found below, some criminals amend the moral conflict of theft by targeting wealthy individuals and corporations. However, these crimes trickle down and impact common people like employees and clients. 

In Bobby’s case, he began scamming as a way to uplift his family’s financial situation. However, the optimism he gained in the process came at the price of the life savings of an innocent victim halfway across the world. 

Real-Word Examples  

So far, we’ve explored Bobby’s story in a historical-fictional sense. However, there are millions of people around the world who find themselves in similar situations. By looking back on these past cases, we can get a better understanding of why cybercrime persists. 

Getting Inside the Mind of a Cybercriminal 

To be able to combat cybercrime, it’s important to analyze the factors that propel it. One way to do this is speaking with former cybercriminals. USA 24 conducted an interview with Alex, a reformed hacker working in the cybersecurity sector. 

Alex explained his reasoning for getting into hacking consisted of a combination of curiosity, thrill-seeking, and rebellion. He felt the world of hacking offered him an arena to test his skills and intelligence against worthy adversaries. He also noted that stealing from businesses felt morally justifiable. 

“There’s a certain ego boost that comes from outsmarting security measures,” Alex said. “Some hackers see themselves as modern Robin Hoods—taking down corporations perceived as corrupt or greedy.” 

Alex eventually ran into trouble with the law. This gave him an opportunity to reflect on his previous actions and pivot the trajectory of his cyber existence. 

“Looking back, I realize how many lives I negatively affected, even if my actions seemed harmless at the time. Data breaches can ruin people’s lives,” Alex said. “I was confronted with the fact that I wasn’t just breaking into machines; I was violating people’s trust and security.” 

7NEWS Spotlight Sits Down with a Sextortionist  

Journalist Sarah Greenhalgh visited Lagos, Nigeria for a piece covering the global sextortion crisis — one that's impacted one in 10 Australian adolescents. A passerby explained why so many in Nigeria turn to sextortion as a means of income.  

“Everything is so expensive,” they said. “We don’t have jobs. We don’t have any options. That is the reason why some of us got into fraud, thieving, or something that’s no good.”  

While there, she spoke with Daniel, a local 21-year-old university student. In his free time, Daniel poses as a high school girl to target teenagers online. He initiates the exchange of intimate content, which he uses to extort his victims. 

Daniel and his “colleagues” buy hacked Instagram accounts from other cybercriminals for a few dollars apiece. They use a name generator and search the output name for potential victims to target. At the chance of an algorithm, a teen is followed by someone who appears to be around their age. 

Daniel steals photos from models on adult websites to initiate “sex chats”. Once the target reciprocates, he begins making demands and applying pressure by threatening to expose the content. 

In an ironic twist, many of the countries being hit the hardest by sextortion are indirectly enabling it. Given the economic climate, many Nigerian cybercriminals rely on second-hand electronic devices sold at marked-down prices. The bulk of these devices is coming in from Western countries. 

The Influence of the Yahoo Boys

Many in Lagos, Nigeria, are struggling to make it by. The economy is in shambles and distrust toward the government is growing. The lifestyle of scammers like the Yahoo Boys gets glamorized. Such was the case for Raymond Abbas, better known as “Hushpuppi” by his 2.4 million Instagram followers.  

Abbas came from humble beginnings. Born to a taxi driver in Lagos, he was forced to hustle on the streets to get by. He started out as a second-hand clothes trader before supposedly making it big in the fashion industry and venturing off into real estate development. 

In reality, Abbas was committing business email compromise (BEC) fraud and numerous other cybercrimes to accumulate his wealth. While he flaunted luxury cars and posed with politicians and celebrities, he was defrauding financial institutions through phishing scams. 

Ultimately, Abbas is reported to have defrauded nearly 2 million people out of over $435 million. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering and received a sentence of 135 months in federal prison. Abbas’s lavish display of wealth motivated many to follow in his path. Hopefully, his sentence can help deter them. 

Why Understanding Cybercriminals is Critical 

You may be wrapping up this article and thinking to yourself, “It doesn’t matter why cybercriminals do what they do, it’s still wrong.” And you’d be partially correct. The circumstances these individuals find themselves in don’t excuse the heinous acts they commit against others. 

However, figuring out why they choose a life of cybercrime does matter. It helps illuminate what perpetuates cybercrime, which allows us to establish a broader picture of cybersecurity. Combating the criminals like Bobby is only half the battle. We must also analyze and attack the societal elements that breed cybercrime. 

We need to continue attempting to speak with cybercriminals — current, reformed, and anywhere in between. Further work, like the journalism of Sarah Greenhalgh and USA 24, should be encouraged and applauded. This is the only way we can truly get to the root cause of cybercrime and develop a plan to respond.  

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About the Author:

Jack Gillespie

Cybersecurity Writer | Digital Forensics Contributor at Cybersecurity Industry |  + postsBio

Jack Gillespie is a cybersecurity content writer with experience in digital forensics and security analysis. He has been writing contributions for Digital Forensics which have provided him with opportunities to collaborate with industry professionals and gain deeper insights into the evolving cybersecurity landscape. Dedicated to exploring emerging threats and digital defense strategies, Jack continues to deliver clear and engaging content for readers seeking to understand the complexities of the cyber world.

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