(아프리카) 가나 인터넷 사기꾼들의 세계

출처: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32583161

9 hours ago: Sunday, May 10 2015

Inside the world of Ghana's internet fraudsters 가나 인터넷 사기꾼들의 세계

By Sammy DarkoBBC Africa, Accra

David: "This is what can get me money to take care of myself" 데이빗 曰: "이것이 내가 돈 버는 방법이다."

Internet fraudsters in Ghana are easy to spot. The young men in fast cars have become such a conspicuous group that they even have their own nickname. Meet the Sakawa boys. 가나의 인터넷 사기꾼들은 쉽게 찾을 수 있다. 속도가 나가는 차량에 탄 젊은이들은 각자 닉네임을 갖고 있을 정도로 튀는(눈에 잘 띄는) 사람들이 되었다. 사카와 아이들을 만나보자. 

David is 25 years old. He's been defrauding people on the internet for the last two years. 데이빗은 25살이다. 그는 지난 2년간 인터넷에서 사람들에게 사기치고 있다.

"I know it's wrong but it gives me a lot of money," he says. "나도 잘못이란 걸 안다. 그러나 그렇게 해야 난 많은 돈을 벌 수 있다."고 그는 항변한다.

He used to sleep on the streets. Then he saw his friends in internet cafes earning money defrauding people online. 그는 과거 길거리에서 잠을 자곤 했었다. 그 당시 온라인에서 사람들에게 사기쳐 돈을 친구들을 PC방에서 만났다.

A typical con is pretending to be a woman romantically interested in men from Europe, America or Asia. 전형적 사기수법은 유럽, 아메리카, 아시아에 사는 남자에 관심 있는 여자처럼 행세하는 것이다.

He learnt the trade and, with little formal education, earned enough money to rent an apartment, buy a car and have money left over to spend. 그는 정규교육은 짧지만 무역은 배웠고, 아파트를 임대하고 자동차를 살 수 있는 충분한 돈을 벌었고, 나머지 돈으로 생활한다.

But he insists the money isn't earned easily. 그러나 그는 돈이란 게 쉽게 벌리는 게 아니라고 항변한다.

"Some say this work is easy but it is not." "어떤 사람들은 이런 일이 쉽다고 하지만, 내가 보기엔 그렇지 않다."

"You have to be patient, smart, fast and cultivate trust between you and the white person". "당신은 끈기가 있어야 하고, 머리가 돌아가야 하며, 당신과 백인 사이에 신뢰를 쌓아야 한다."

Fraudsters in Ghana say they are the women in pictures and videos to draw in victims 가나의 인터넷 사기꾼들은 남자들을 유혹하기 위해 사진이나 동영상으로 여자인 척 한다고 말한다.

Fraudsters like David (not his real name) pretend to be beautiful women. They play clips of the women saying hello. They then tell their targets that their microphone or speakers aren't working so they can't speak, they can only communicate via messages. 데이빗(가명)과 같은 인터넷 사기꾼들은 예쁜 여자인 척한다. 그들은 안녕하세요 라고 말하는 여자들의 모습이 나오는 클립을 이용한다. 그리하여 상대방 남성들에게 자신의 마이크나 스피커가 제대로 작동하지 않기 때문에 말할 수 없으니 문자로만 소통할 수 있다고 전한다.

Over time they build up a romantic relationship with them before convincing them to send them money. 시간이 가면서 둘 사이에 로맨틱한 관계로 발전한다. 그런다음 상대방 남성들에게 돈을 보낼 수 있게끔 믿음을 심어준다.

Others pretend to have a concession in gold, timber, securities or oil to persuade people to hand over money for their fake business arrangements. 어떤 사람들은 상대방 남성들이 가짜계약을 성사시키기 위해 돈을 보내줄 수 있다고 설득하면서 자기한테는 금, 목재, 증권, 석유의 지분이나 권한이 있는 것처럼 가장한다.

The group of fraudsters have come to be known as the Sakawa boys in Ghana, a term which means "putting inside" in the Hausa language. 가나에서 이런 사기꾼들은 사카와 아이들이라고 불린다. 이 말은 하우사 말로 "안에 넣기"란 뜻이다.

It's not just a living, but a lifestyle. 인터넷 사기는 생계수단이 아니라 라이프스타일(삶의 방식)이다.

Sakawa boys are so renowned in Ghana that a primary school pupil can point one out - their lavish lifestyle gives them away.

They can be spotted on a Saturday night in Santa Marie, a suburb of Ghana's capital Accra.

Sakawa boys are known for driving around playing loud music

The streets are filled with unlicensed Range Rovers and Toyota Camrys.

Young men in tight jeans, baseball caps and flashes of gold sit with their car windows wound down and play loud music.

A decade ago the term Sakawa was not even used in Ghana. Instead internet fraudsters were called Yahoo boys - a term mostly used for conmen in Nigeria.

The Nigerian singer Olu Maintain released the song Yahooze in 2007. In the song he says "it's all about the Benjamins baby", referring to hundred dollar bills. And at gigs he started spraying money at fans.

He said in an interview with Modern Ghana at the time "nobody is interested in how you got to where you are. Everybody is interested in results".

Although he said in the same interview "the song has nothing to do with yahoo".

Now the term Sakawa boy has taken over in Ghana. There is even a collection of Sakawa boy films, whose storylines often reference the use of black magic.

Ghanaian films have storylines about Sakawa Boys

One reason they have taken off in Ghana is that it has one of the highest internet penetration rates in Africa.

Sakawa boys are not just conspicuous consumers.

Some claim they also wield considerable influence.

The Ghanaian Times reports that a government minister complained that chiefs "condone and connive with such criminals" - referring to Sakawa boys.

Northern Region Minister Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru said he had received a death threat after issuing a directive to arrest some Sakawa boys.

The same minister also claimed some of the conmen had bribed a chief to rename his town either Galaxy City or La Palmas.

The negative effect of Sakawa boys' cons is felt across the country.

Cybercrime contributed to Ghana being blacklisted for money-laundering by the international watchdog the global Financial Action Task Force in 2012. This dented the country's international reputation as an investment destination.

The government says those who have been victims of Ghana's conmen should lodge formal complaints but so far, there have been few convictions - partly because of the difficulty prosecuting this type of crime, with the victims living abroad.

David recognises that being a conman doesn't help his own reputation either. But the money is too much of a lure for him to make a career change any time soon.