I am just one of an army of folks that pretend to be victims so as to waste the time of '419' (a/k/a advance fee fraud) scammers -- time they could be spending taking another innocent victim for all they've got. Some people play it straight, others push the envelope and get their pets to do tricks, all the way up to sending them on pointless trips for thousands of miles to pick up money that isn't there. HA HA - scammer scammed!
I'm only a beginner, you can see many many many more baits at 419eater.com.
★ If you're concerned about the ethics of this, please read this article. Scammers work in packs and destroy lives. Don't be fooled by their sob stories when they are caught! They tell bald-faced lies for a living!
It's been estimated that there are well over 250,000 419 scammers worlwide, bringing in more than US$1.5 billion annually. The average victim pays out US$20,000. Some people have died -- either brutally killed when they flew to a foreign country expecting to pick up their money (George Makronalli in South Africa, 2004), or killed themselves when they realized they had been scammed (Leslie Fountain, England, 2004).
★ Want to fight back? Bait them! But bait safe -- use identities completely separate from your real life, use IP-masking email services like gmail to mask your location. Visit 419 eater.com for more information, advice, and an archive of baits.