It is indeed unfortunate that the scammers are targeting churches. Using religion is not a new trick for them. For many years they have invoked the name of God in their scams. If one is to look at some of the archived scam letters, you will see how these criminals can work by trying to pull the heartstrings of people. With a rather dishearting frequency, these scammers pretend to be orphans, widows, or refugees fleeing from a conflict. They are trying to gain your sympathy and your pity so that they can try to talk you out of your money. In all cases, the person sending the mail is a common criminal.

How stupid and/or greedy would you have to be to fall for this old scam? $41,000,000 for nothing? No wonder these idiot bible thumpers keep Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson in business.

If you are dumb enough to believe in angels, resurections and the divine right of kings, you are capable of being sucked into any scheme. A fool and his money are soon parted.

How could there be a more fitting target than churches to scam money from?

After all, churches and evangelists have built their entire empires on the backs of poor, hard-working people by scamming them with the idea that somehow donating money will send them to heaven quicker.

Religion itself is the biggest scam in human history, used for power and control by the elites, so it is very funny to me that they are getting scammed by others for a change.

Nigerians are just now getting around to scamming the credulous? It only proves they're slow learners -- our own televangelists and Republicans have been doing it for years.

These scams have been going on for 10 years. All I have to see is the word "Nigeria" and I go directly to my delete button.

These Christian dupes need to pull their heads out of their Bibles and get a clue about these e-mail frauds.

This scam is as old as the web. Dummies got what they deserved.

John's got it so upsidebackwards, I'm afraid, and no offense. But these scams don't play on anyone's sympathy for others - they play on greed, the base, all-too-human wish to get a lot, REALLY a lot, for nothing. These Christians are people, after all, and just as venal and greedy as anyone else is. There's no surprise in some of them taking this bait. It's exactly the same as when any grifter in Las Vegas tries to fill an inside straight. They both know better at bottom, but persuade themselves thattheir special magic is changing the world around just for them.

And then they both invoke the name of their creator when they lose, lose, lose.

If there's anything to be learned from this footnote to Nigerian scams, it is, as we all ought to know already, that religious people are no different in any respect from the rest of us. It is foolish to expect different results for these folks just because they claim to have invisible friends. It's foolish to expect different behavior from them, too.

Cheers!

Yes it is a shame. But isn't this similar to what Hagee & Hind do on a regular basis to little old ladies on fixed incomes?

Hey these preachers won't like new flim-flam artists beating them to the loot one bit will they?

Well, considering that organized religion has been bilking the gullible out of money for thousands of years, I find this quite amusing.

The church and the accountant had a responsibility of reasonable due diligence in deciding if this was legitimate or not. If all these Nigerians had to do was "confess Jesus as Lord", then it's time for the church to hire a new accountant.

No, Mr. Premo, it wasn't "absolutely brilliant". You're just a moron.

Churches have been scamming the entire human race for centuries. How come that never makes the headlines?

Can't somone start an EDUCATION campaign to educate all the gullible types out there to email scams? They seem so obvious yet so many people fall for them!!!

Well, considering that organized religion has been bilking the gullible out of money for thousands of years, I find this quite amusing.

The church and the accountant had a responsibility of reasonable due diligence in deciding if this was legitimate or not. If all these Nigerians had to do was "confess Jesus as Lord", then it's time for the church to hire a new accountant.

No, Mr. Premo, it wasn't "absolutely brilliant". You're just a moron.

All religion is a scam.

Greedy Christians?
How could this be possible?

i found myself being solicited by nigerians and they madr a tranfer of money to my account that was legitimate until, i pulled out the money and closed my account. Ha Hs! They cried by email for weeks that they had been cheated. their scheme was to say that the money went to the wrong account after I had wired it back to nigeria. my bank backed me up and I got the last laugh

Interesting report but you're kind of late on scamming the scammers.

Genius.

The scammers are whatever you choose to describe them,I call them basic lowlife scumbags. If they can be exposed and arrested like Brian did -excellent.
The so called 'victims' need to do some soul-searching themselves.When an e-mail devoid of even the most minuscule of gumption comes into an e-mail box ladened with promises only the most gullible and greedy will fall for,then the crooked recipient must bear the consequences. Why should I feel sorry for the leader of a church that is ready to do things that he cannot preach from his pulpit on a Sunday morning.
Let's assume that the content of the e-mail was true,wouldn't the church be boasting of an extraordinary 'miracle'- when in actual fact they would have duped a very poor state. Brian did mention that the average pay is 1 dollar a week!
There are two sides to every story.I really will like Brian to do a follow-up report on the criminally minded 'victims' who sacrifice common sense on the alter of participating in the 'loot' of these criminals.

On the other hand, these churches are probably just seeing dollar signs, like usual. And besides, many of them scam money out of people every Sunday (every day of the week on the television). What goes around comes around.