
Yes, a lot of people get scammed by these things, and to be honest it seems to be elderly people who are being scammed. They didnt grow up with a computer, so therefore no computer courses in school to teach them about these scams. They get worried, and tend to trust that these are genuine, until their bank accounts are empty, and their credit cards are maxed out.
I get these kinds of emails all the time, and just delete them. I also get emails saying that my urgent action is needed, and if I would help these people cash cheques from an estate. Oh, I can keep some money, just send back a portion. How wonderful!!!!! I can get rich quick??? Sweet. Mind you, the cheques are bogus, and when you take the money back out of the bank (since it says to do it right away), after the cheque comes back, its YOU holding the bag for several thousand dollars.
I just open things that I know where they come from. Mistrust is a wonderful thing, in situations like this.