How Nigeria became a paradise for ponzi scammers

DDM News

Over the past nine years, Nigerians have been relentlessly defrauded by wave after wave of Ponzi schemes.

According to Diaspora digital media (DDM) these criminal ventures, masked as legitimate businesses or investment opportunities, have siphoned off trillions of naira while exploiting citizens battered by poverty, joblessness, and inflation.

Despite repeated warnings from regulatory bodies like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the scams continue to flourish.

Some were even endorsed by influencers and broadcast on national media, further emboldening the fraudsters.

The first wave (2016): digital hope turned national despair

The first major blow came in 2016, when MMM Nigeria launched with promises of 30% monthly returns.

It attracted millions of Nigerians before crashing and leaving behind broken families, lost savings, and widespread despair.

Ultimate Cycler was another clone scheme that lured users with a supposed N12,500 startup fee that was supposed to grow into N50,000.

It collapsed within a few months, taking money from thousands of hopefuls.

Get Help Worldwide (GHW) operated as a donation-based help platform.

Like MMM, it depended on continuous new signups to sustain older participants.

Twinkas and iCharity Club followed the same pyramid-style model, relying on peer-to-peer donations with no real product backing them.

Crowd Rising and Claritta presented themselves as community aid groups but lacked any sustainable financial model.

Help2Get, Loopers Club, and Givers Forum also used the “donation” narrative, eventually collapsing once new registrations dried up.

2017: copycat madness amplifies losses

By 2017, copycat platforms began flooding the digital space.

NNN Nigeria and MMM Cooperation were offshoots of the original MMM concept, using similar structures and language to deceive more victims.

GCCH (Global Crediting Cooperative Hub) pretended to be a financial cooperative but paid old members with money from new investors.

Money Riot, RevoMoney, and SwissGolden (Nigeria’s version) introduced precious metals and token systems to mask their Ponzi structure.

NNU (Nigeria News Update) offered earnings for reading news and clicking on advertisements, but failed when ad revenue proved unsustainable.

Peer2Peer Donation, Twinkas Reloaded, and Donation Hub recycled older scams with minimal changes.

MyBonus and ZarFund added referral bonuses and misleading claims of foreign backing to attract larger crowds.

All eventually fell apart under the weight of unfulfilled promises.

2018–2020: crypto craze and fake cooperatives

During this period, scammers started using cryptocurrency and cooperative models to lure victims.

Bitclub Advantage and Million Money capitalized on Bitcoin hype to justify unrealistic investment returns.

Helping Hands International and DGSOUK used religious tones and faith-based messaging to build trust, especially among Christian communities.

Pennywise, Loom, and Crowd1 promoted binary structures and investment packages that collapsed once growth stopped.

Lion’s Share and InksNation introduced digital tokens with grand claims of ending poverty.

InksNation’s founder was later arrested, but not before thousands had already lost their investments.

Baraza Multipurpose Cooperative posed as a legitimate savings scheme and even operated branches before vanishing with contributors’ funds.

Racksterli, a scheme that paid users for watching ads, gained credibility by recruiting celebrities and social media influencers.

When Racksterli shut down, many young Nigerians lost their life savings.

2021–2022: tech-driven deception

As internet access grew, scammers leveraged mobile apps and crypto tools to defraud users.

86FB, also known as 86Z, linked online sports betting with fake trading platforms to draw in huge investments.

Eagle Cooperative, Royal Q (Nigerian clone), and FINAFRICA offered fake financial advice and AI tools that never existed.

Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage claimed to store and resell farm produce at a profit.

Its founder was arrested after mismanaging billions of naira.

QNet Nigeria posed as a direct-selling company but was accused of deceptive recruitment and false marketing.

Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS), MBA Forex, Chinmark Group, and Inksledger all promised daily profits from crypto or forex trading.

These platforms used professional branding to appear credible but had no real businesses behind them.

Axim Exchange presented itself as a cryptocurrency exchange platform.

It shut down after collecting funds from users with no trace of refund.

2023–2025: digital disguises and cloned fintechs

In recent years, scammers have adopted more sophisticated branding.

CALA (Cala Finance) and 6Dollars Investment claimed to use blockchain technology for high-yield investments.

Sidra Investment was a cloned platform, pretending to be affiliated with a real company to defraud people.

WealthBuddy and Compoundly disguised themselves as fintech startups, using fabricated testimonials and paid endorsements to gain trust.

BitFinance Global and CBEX appeared as crypto and stock trading companies.

They pulled in billions before disappearing from the digital space.

A system that enables fraud

While a few perpetrators have been arrested, most vanished before authorities could act.

They often rebrand or relocate their operations abroad, continuing to target unsuspecting Nigerians.

Nigeria’s regulatory system struggles with coordination and lacks proactive digital surveillance.

The absence of real-time monitoring tools has made it easy for Ponzi schemes to operate for months before getting flagged.

The culture of desperation, combined with low financial literacy, keeps fueling the cycle.

Unless strong digital regulations are enacted and financial education is widely promoted, more Nigerians will continue to fall victim.

Impunity for financial crimes must end, and enforcement agencies must work smarter to stay ahead of these fraudsters.

This tragic pattern will continue if the nation does not act decisively.

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