[kenjackson]

It depends on what the definition of stranger is. At the point she sent the money she had entered a relationship as an employee. Granted, it was a new relationship, I think it is easy for most people to now think of this entity as no longer a stranger -- even though they probably should.

As noted in a below thread, the solution can still be to make the funds available, but to note clearly that the actual funds may not really be there.

As you note, this scam has been going on forever, and some simple UI changes could make it harder to execute, while not hindering the common case (non-scam).