**NEW YORK, July 5, 2026** — The cat-and-mouse game between lonely hearts and digital con artists has never been more personal. In a groundbreaking livestream event scheduled for July 16, WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs will sit down with New York Times journalist Carlos Barragán to dissect the shadowy world of Nigeria’s infamous “Yahoo Boys”—the young grifters who have turned online romance into a multi-million-dollar industry.
Barragán’s new book, *The Yahoo Boys: Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria’s Romance Scammers*, takes readers deep inside the Lagos underworld where desperation meets opportunity. After embedding with a group of these scammers, Barragán delivers a raw, often darkly humorous account of how internet-enabled deception preys on emotional vulnerability. The livestream, which kicks off at 12 p.m. ET on July 16, promises to answer the most pressing questions about the mechanics, psychology, and real-world consequences of these schemes.
“These aren’t just faceless fraudsters in a boiler room,” Barragán said in a preview of the event. “They are young men navigating poverty, peer pressure, and a global economy that has left them behind. The story is as much about systemic inequality as it is about catfishing.” Knibbs, who leads WIRED’s Book Club, will guide the conversation through the book’s most shocking revelations—including how scammers study American dating culture, fake identities, and even “romance scripts” to maximize emotional manipulation.
The timing of the event is critical. With the Federal Trade Commission reporting that romance scams cost Americans more than $1.3 billion in 2025—a 20% spike from the previous year—the topic has never been more urgent. Victims, often older adults or those recently widowed, are losing life savings to increasingly sophisticated tactics. Barragán’s research reveals that some Yahoo Boys now use AI-generated voice cloning and deepfake video calls to bypass traditional red flags.
Subscribers can submit questions in the comments section before the July 16 broadcast; the stream will be available exclusively to WIRED subscribers, with a replay posted afterward. For those looking to dig deeper, WIRED’s Book Club also offers discussion guides and past recordings on topics like AI’s impact on the workforce and Big Tech’s military contracts. As digital deception evolves, this livestream offers a rare, unflinching look at the human cost behind the scam—from both sides of the screen.