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The popularity of alternative online investment platforms has become worrisome in recent times. Adopting explorative methodology, this chapter examines the discursive practices of truth, lies and deception inherent in Ponzi and Pyramid schemes through their method of operation, recruitment strategies, products/services and reward system via Bitconnect, OneCoin, and Zarfund – three online-based Ponzi schemes. The study reveals that the greatest deception of Ponzi schemes lies in the high returns they promise to potential investors and the low work requirement. These claims make it difficult for potential investors to make rational decisions before investing. This study recommends that proper evaluation and due diligence – basic financial literacy – be conducted before investing in any AFIP. Alternatively, expert advice may be sort before any financial commitment.

Advanced fee fraud is a common form of online financial scam on the Internet. Previous researchers have attempted a broad study of the nature and narrative features of this scam. The current study attempts a linguistic analysis of 200 samples of advanced fee scam emails and examines specifically how modal auxiliary verbs are used to express certainty or uncertainty in the scam. For instance, modal verbs are commonly used to direct, promise, threaten and even serve politeness functions in scam emails. Deontic modal verbs such as "will" is found to be the most frequent verb in the data and is manipulatively deployed at speaker-oriented level of discourse to express commitment on the part of the speaker and impose some obligation such as ensuring the interaction proposed in the letters remain secret. Findings from the study reveal that the manipulative use of modal verbs contributes to the success of the proposed scam.

This study adopts a discourse analytical approach to examine the contested identity of the Igbos of the southeast of Nigeria. It analyses the significance of the social and political discourses in the media and the Internet about their claim to the Jewish ancestry and as “Biafrans” rather than Nigerians. The study highlights the implications of these claims and their larger political implications for Nigeria. The study also shows that ideological construction of group identity by IPOB consistently portrays them as the victim and the marginalized. And their claim to Jewish ancestry is possibly a way of seeking foreign support.