"The elderly also are very vulnerable. Many elderly people are lonely and on fixed incomes, and are more likely to fall for an email scam."

5) In a worst case scenario, what can happen if someone were to go through with communicating to the sender of an email scam? In other words, what is the final goal of the scammer and what would be the final outcome for one being scammed?

"The worst case scenario is the victim could be murdered. Victims of scams have been murdered when they traveled to meet with the scammer in person. There are rare cases when a scammer has shown up at a victim's home.

"Second worst case scenario is the victim is depleted of all funds, and is bankrupt from sending her money to the scammer. There are always more than one scammer involved in robbing a victim, it is a group effort. Many victims have lost their homes and everything they had because they believed in the scam and kept sending the scammer money. The final goal of the scammer is to deplete the victim of all of her monetary assets for his gain. The final outcome for the victim is heartache, financial ruin, and sometimes suicide."

6) Can these scammers be caught and brought to justice?

"Yes, they can be. It takes a lot of work to catch a scammer and bring them to justice. Many scammers have been caught but it can take years to locate and prosecute them. They use Internet cafes, and false names and other information. They work in gangs, so it is usually very difficult to catch them."

7) Where are these scammers emailing from? Are the governing officials in these countries doing anything to stop the scammers?

"These scammers are emailing from all over the world, even from the United States. The governing officials of some countries are doing what they can to stop the scammers, but it is a very difficult job because the scams are so far reaching, and run deep into the underground."

8 ) If their scams are so easy to spot, how do they make money? Do people still fall for these 'Nigerian' scams or do the scammers have other sources of income?

"These scams are easy to spot for the people that are educated on how to spot a scam. Not all scams are easy to spot, that is why so many people fall for clever scams like job offers, and work at home scams. The scammers make money by targeting potential victims hoping that they are not smart enough to figure out that they are being scammed. Some scammers have other income such as part-time work, but scamming is their primary source of income."