Names of victims of the Smolensk air disaster are being used in Nigerian scam emails.

Police in Warsaw say one of the letters has been published in the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper. Allegedly written by a lawyer with a Polish-sounding surname, the email asks for help in transferring out 12,000 USD from an account held by the late Piotr Nurowski, head of the Polish Olympic Committee who was one of 96 who died in western Russia on April 10.

Polish police warn that anyone who falls prey to the scam not only stands to lose money from his own account – but could face prosecution if the account is used for money laundering. (ek/pg)