The perpetrators of this crime are known as 419 in Nigeria. Though admired my many for their wealth, "the '419 men' embodied ambition for wealth and power gone out of control". A Nigerian paper (Guardian, 4 October 1996) "Such affluent people terrorized the inhabitants [of Owerri] with their wealth"(1).
These 419 men don't feel sorry for the victims of there scams. Their true feelings as expressed by one of their own. The 419 men "have the belief that white men are stupid and greedy. They say the American guy has a good life. There's this belief that for every dollar they lose, the American government will pay them back in some way."(2)
Scammers make three times the average income of their counter parts doing lawful work. Sometimes it's much more.(3)
These scammers sometimes employ "friends" in the victims home country to make sure the con goes as planned, threats of harm are used if needed.(4)
A site that proclaim to show the real people behind the scams!