Haven't gone back to read the whole thread, so maybe someone already posted this.

In Nigeria, there is a word in their language now for the gullible foreigners, and it is part of the lyrics of a
popular SONG about Nigerians being able to con foreigners who fall for these scams.

Recently on Dr. Phil (yes, I watched the whole program) he focussed on victims of Nigerian scams.
There were American women who were convinced they had a relationship with a man who loved them, met by email, who they would then move on to talking to by phone. They are part of the Nigerian scam industry. Boiler room offices with phone banks of men calling women who respond to the emails and pictures on dating web site who read scripts over the phone - send money to pay for plane tickets, hospital care when the guys have accidents rushing to the airport to fly to meet their American woman, debts that need to be paid before they can leave and meet their American woman... Phil showed photos that had been sent to these women and then tracked down the actual men who were white male models living somewhere else in the world whose photos had been used by these con artists. Sad.

I've gotten the scam targeting artists. Cons always look for a vulnerable hook, and artists are always looking for gallery shows or clients to buy their work. The Nigerian scam letter that targets artists describes how they want so much to buy your work that they have seen on your web site and for a certain amount of money to pay the shipping costs to get it to Nigeria......