I get these from time to time, but when they come to someone like me as e-mail spam you have to know they aren't for real. Getting more backgroud is sure interesting, though.

This sounded like Urban Legend to me: The US Secret Service reports that in June of 1995 an American who was pursuing one of these scams was found murdered in Lagos and that numerous other persons have been reported missing.

After reading more about the scam I think I can believe it.

Here's a link to the Secret Service Alert. It doesn't mention deaths, but does confirm large amounts of money. Indications are that Advance Fee Fraud grosses hundreds of millions of dollars annually and the losses are continuing to escalate. In all likelihood, there are victims who do not report their losses to authorities due to either fear or embarrassment.

And they do want copies of the letters to be able to track variations in the pattern.