Hi Kathy,
It doesn't surprise me one bit that the 419 Coalition (a group of Nigerian Scammers who target innocent, kind-hearted individuals via email, post mail, and other forms of media...) have resorted to posting on message boards and forums to try and get money from the innocent.
The term 419 comes from the Nigerian Penal Code for "Advanced Fee Fraud". Originally, the letters were sent via mail and later fax. Now, we can almost expect to receive one in our junk email box....almost daily.
The Nigerian Scammers operate exclusively out of small cybercafes and internet shops throught the country. They simply pay a small fee for hourly use to the shop owner and then they're off sending thousands and thousands of these letters via email broadcasting software which is already installed on the PCs the shop rents.
Where did it all start???
Well, it started back in the 1990's as a result of the Nigerian economy, which was supported by it's oil, collapsed. Several University Students cooked up an idea to target the wealth of visitors coming to the country with high interest in making deals. Later, the scam was focused on Western Business Owners.
There are several warnings that have been issued by Federal Agencies right here in the U.S. against 419 Scammers.
The FTC states "If you receive an offer via email from someone claiming to need your help getting money out of Nigeria — or any other country, for that matter — forward it to the FTC at spam@uce.gov."
Also, The Department of Treasury recommends: "You may also email the 419er documents, especially any banking data they may have given you, marked as described above, to Task Force Main in DC 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov; that is also acceptable."
Beware, my Friends.... they are out there...