Nigerian scammers want you to cut them some slack

And you thought you had it bad. Scammers in Nigera are having a tougher time than ever raking in the easy dough, reports the Washington Post:

"We are working harder. The financial crisis is not making it easy for them over there," said Banjo, 24, speaking about Americans, whose trust he has won and whose money he has fleeced, via his Dell laptop. "They don't have money. And the money they don't have, we want."

For the uninitiated, the "419" scam ("NIGERIAN PRINCE WANTS TO REWARD YOU $2 MILLION!") is a lucrative business. The practice has been incorporated into the country's pop culture -- Colin Powell was seen dancing to a song about 419 in London -- and is glorified among young children.

(Hat tip: Slashdot)