Just this week I received these amazing offers in my (junk) email in-box:

Mr. Collins J. Robert of Britain told me that a distant relative of mine died, and I'm eligible for some of the $22.5 million he left behind. 

From Nigeria, I got word that a family of three died in a plane crash.  Lo and behold I am a distant relative of them too, and there is 19.5 million dollars waiting for me!

I love when people die!

Then Victoria Schmitt wrote me an insulting email.  She told me that after a long study by some officials in the UK, I was due a paltry 4.5 million dollars.  Does she not know the other offers I've had? 

James Okon was next.  From him came an offer of lots of money that he wants to transfer to me as an investment.  He didn't tell me how much, but for him to take the time to research and study my business and then write just to me...it must be a ton!

Then it was another $25.5 million from Scotland.  Someone else died in the Ivory Coast and I was eligible for $35 million.  And another found an abandoned sum of $10.5 million that somehow I deserve.

And then there was Mrs. Mabel Morgan.  If you can't trust a woman named Mabel who can you trust?  You see her husband died recently and now she has cancer.  And, just my incredible luck, she has all this extra money that she wants to shovel off to me.

I never realized someone else's cancer could be so profitable for me! 

These emails put me in a state of ecstasy.  I was going to be set for life.  I saw myself floating effortlessly the rest of my days in the bathwaters of the Bahamas.  I could taste the rum and lobster...and then....

I began to grow suspicious after receiving this next email.  I'm copying and pasting this directly from the email sent to me word for word in all of its misspelled and grammatically incorrect glory.  I hope you're sitting down:

Re: Payment Notification:

We are writhing to know if it's true that you are DEAD? Because we received a notification from one MR. GERSHON SHAPIRO of USA stating that you are DEAD and that you have giving him the right to claim your funds. He stated you died on a CAR accident. He has been calling us regarding this issue, but we cannot proceed with him until we confirm this by not hearing from you after 7days.

Be advised that we have made all arrangements for you to receive and confirm your funds without anymore stress, and without any further delays. All we need to confirm now is your been DEAD Or still Alive.

Because this MAN'S message brought shock to our minds. And we just can't proceed with him until we confirm if this is a reality OR not But if it happened we did not hear from you after 7days, then we say: MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE" YOUR JOY AND SUCCESS REMAINS OUR GOAL.

May the peace of the Lord be with you wherever you may be now.

Your Faitfully,

Mrs Farida Waziri.

Email:mrsfaidamzamberwaziri@hotmail.com

WOW!  There's email after death???  Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Hmm....wait a minute...that means I must be in hell.  Sigh.

Setting aside all of my sarcasm now...here's what I ask myself: Who responds to these offers with any interest at all?  Who gets duped by them?  Who could possibly fall for this stuff?  And then I thought...

The young, the poor, the desperate, the vulnerable, the ignorant...any of them could.  These people are the prey.  And it disgusts me.