Benjamin Ott, a member of an anti-scam forum, said Nigerian scammers have sent out e-mails that pretend to be from a Singaporean charity that is involved in the relief effort. The e-mail, which originates from Lagos in Nigeria, asks people to donate money by Western Union transfer to help victims of the disaster.
Scammers have often used current affairs to trick people into giving money. Last year, an e-mail scam from the Czech Republic used legitimate organisations and Holocaust victims to strengthen its case.
These people are scum. The Nigeria goverment should be coming down hard on these thieves but considering 419 scams are the 4th largest industry in Nigeria, it obviously absolves the governmet of a lot of their financial responsibilities. Think about it - if half the country is lifting cash by scamming Westerners then the government can spend more money supporting their inbred wars with neighbouring countries. Simply sad. See www.419eater.com for more details.