An Oregon woman lost $400,000 to a well-known Internet scam. Janella Spears insists she’s not a sucker, but she became curious when she received an e-mail promising her $20 million if only she would help her long-lost relative with some up-front money. The scheme is called the "Nigerian scam" and is familiar to most people who use email.
Spears said the crook’s ability to identify her relative by name was persuasive. "That’s what got me to believe it," Spears said. "So why wouldn’t you send over $100?"
The nursing administrator said she mortgaged her house, took out a lien on the family car, and blew her husband’s retirement account. "The retirement he was dreaming of — cruising and going around and seeing America — is pretty much gone for him right now," she cried.
Spears estimates it will take years to clear the debt she accumulated in over two years of sending money to the con artists. Her family and bank officials told her it was a scam and begged her to stop, but she became obsessed with getting paid.
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