Internet fraud is fodder for Lanre’s book (From Enfield Independent)

Internet fraud is fodder for Lanre’s book

10:47am Thursday 5th November 2009 in Freetime By Kate Sole

The growing threat of internet fraud is never far from the headlines, and tales of web-surfers falling victim to ‘phishing’ scams is all too common.

Disturbed by the sinister practices of these fraudsters, Waltham Forest resident Lanre Soyode decided to write a book about the subject, as “her little contribution” to the problem.

Naturally Ingenious follows the plight of one man who invests his redundancy package in a double-your-money scheme with hopes of supporting his girlfriend who is recovering in hospital from a nasty fall. When he loses his money, protagonist Tobi Ajayi heads to Nigeria on the trail of his cash and the fraudsters.

Speaking about her central character, the author, who is of Nigerian parentage tells me: “People would ask me why did I make the central character a man, but I wanted the person to suffer the shock of losing all that money and I would have felt too sympathetic to a woman.”

As a first-time published author, Lanre, a former university lecturer and Civil Servant, says seeing her debut novel on the book shelves has “been very exciting”, but she is looking forward to having a “nice break”.

Naturally Ingenious by Lanre Soyode is available from Foyles, Charing Cross Road, Waterstones, Walthamstow, or online at www.amazon.com (£8.99)