Hi Britt, I applaud you for doing more than I would say most would. You went so far as to: 1. Respond and 2. Provide them with resources to get local help.

You've also done well to do your research and look into the possibility of this being an exploitative scam. It's good to want to help people, but in arguably suspicious circumstances like these, I'd say it's better to be safe than sorry. I would err on the side of caution with unsolicited emails.