Heard similar stories of locals being ripped off via similar means from Nigeria. Been happening for a few years. In some cases the nigerians have been caught ... it's become a worldwide police issue & yes they do share info about such afaik from all reports.

email is one of their main sources of attraction. So it generally happens to the elderly who are not that internet 'aware' of things like this. Or to recognise spam email. However, the email approaches have also sometimes been very devisive at times.