She's a widow, he's a high-ranking government official. They have fallen on hard times and urgently request your assistance to get a large sum of money out of Nigeria. They will reward you handsomely for your help.

Chances are you've seen something like that in your e-mail box. Perhaps in a bored moment you've wondered who sends them and why they bother; after all, no one could be gullible enough to buy into such an obvious con game.

But sources close to some of the so-called Nigerian e-mail scam's perpetrators insist that those overwrought messages fuel a thriving industry, employing thousands of...continue reading