Following the arrest of Nigerian man for allegedly heading a network of 40 individuals behind global scams worth more than $60m (£45m), we asked cyber-security blogger Graham Clueley to share his thoughts with us:
They are considered something of a joke by most of the millions of people who receive scam emails in their inbox every day - but they only have to be believed by a tiny percentage of people.
The numbers quickly add up, and the money which can be made by the online criminals is considerable.
In recent years the scam campaigns have become more malicious, involving hijacking someone's PC or luring naive internet users into believing they have found love online with the aim of emptying their bank accounts.
Although there is a thriving cottage industry of fraudsters in Nigeria, the reality is that scammers are based in every country.
Wherever criminals see an opportunity to make money, they will.
And they know that if they are careful in how they use the internet, they can cover their tracks and reduce their chances of identification.
Source: BBC News
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