E-Mail Scam Targets Jews Wednesday, May 30, 2007

An e-mail scam targeting the Jewish community is circulating on the Internet.

The e-mail message contains the subject heading: “There is a new anti-Semitism, please help the Jews,” and claims to be from a Dr. Kane Andrew who is referred to as a “delegated representative of SAVE THE JEWS in Western African Region.”  

The e-mail claims that Jews are being killed and kidnapped in Nigeria, which is resulting in a “Holocaust caused by Antisemitism.”  There is no truth to this claim.

This poorly written e-mail is typical of what is known as the “Nigerian scams.”   These e-mail scams can originate in different countries but are collectively referred to as “Nigerian scams” because individuals in that country are rumored to have started the practice and are still a leading source of the scams. The e-mails can take various forms: some try to entice a person to get involved in a plan to help recoup a large sum of money and share in the proceeds; others try to get people to give money for disaster relief or some other cause.  The ultimate goal is to bilk money from an unsuspecting victim.