I spent some time creating this mind map to sum up everything you’d want to know about the scam messages, as well as the common theories. I will try to keep it updated. If you have anything to add to this or critique, please let me know.
Might take a while to load, it’s a very high res image. Here’s a link alternative: https://files.catbox.moe/csls12.jpg
This should be obvious, but due to the recent developments I want to have this here as a warning:
An ARG is basically a cryptic internet art project, where fans come together and solve it. “Nicoles” messages are VERY unlikely to be connected to one, though. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game