People fall for this scam and it's derivatives all the time. Hard to believe? Not at all.
I just got, once again, the very old "Microsoft/AOL will send you money for every person you forward this to" hoax e-mail. This is THE oldest hoaz e-mail in existance, and it's STILL got traction. People actually believe this crap!
Thankfully, it's easy to spot scams: If it's coming from somebody you don't know and/or it's asking for money or your personal information, it's a scam!