ABC News Report on Nigerian Scamming
Nigerian Scamming news clip.
A couple of things of immediate interest is that the global network allows people in places like Nigeria to communicate with possible victims in places which are a long way from Nigeria.
There also seems to be some indication that the criminal activities are driven by motivations to gain money and in some instances (as suggested by recent research) there is a cultural element of "revenge" against what are perceived as rich white victims. Of course the victims are not always white but they are often from Western countries.