Study: Obvious Nigerian scam emails appear that way for a reason

[snopes]

Have you ever wired money to an overseas bank account simply because you received an email asking you to do so? Probably not, but there are plenty of people who have done just that, and they have paid the price with ruined credit histories and even identity theft. A Microsoft researcher named Corman Herley did a bit of homework on this scam (PDF here) — typically referred to as a "Nigerian" or "419" scam — and found why the attack still works after all these years.

http://www.tecca.com/news/2012/06/21...am-spam-email/

[snopes]

You've seen the email.

A terminally ill Nigerian prince or director of a massive corporation contacts you urgently asking you to move a large sum of money, promising you can keep a share. All you need to do is provide your credit card number and banking PIN.

It looks like a scam, sounds like a scam -- it is a scam. But who on earth actually believes these things?

If you've ever wondered why these scams are so blatant, here’s why

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/06/...-from-nigeria/

[Roadhog]

I dont normally pay attention to Faux News, so I missed that. Interesting, tho.
Another Nigerian scam that people need to be aware of is the US soldier romance scam. It involves a Mugu trying to play the part of a US soldier dispatched to Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Fjordland or Pluto....
Its not a soldier at all but a mugu in Lagos, or somewhere else in Nigeria who wants your cash in his pocket!
Once the scammer has you by the heart strings (usually on a dating site, then on Yahoo, MSN or other messenger), he sends you a request for money to be transfered to a bank account so that he can go on leave. Dont fall for it. You wont see your money again and you will be hit with guilt-trips to get more cash.