&gt;&quot;<i>targets nearly 300,000 Americans a year, most of them elderly, and has enticed them to send an estimated $300 million annually</i>&quot;<p>In this case, the scammers took advantage of an elderly man, inflicted with Alzheimer&#x27;s and diminishing mental capacity.  Sad.<p>But that can&#x27;t be the case for the majority.  How on earth do &quot;normal&quot; people fall for this?  I can see, <i>maybe</i>, when the internet was young and this was new.  But it&#x27;s a pop culture joke now.  Those numbers are staggering.