Because nearly even internet user is aware of SPAM and some of the tactics that are commonly employed by spammers, and as a result of new laws that are being enacted in order to combat email spam in the United States, professional spammers are on the run. Some fold up shop completely and pursue a more typical job, while other spammers are simply forced to get more creative with their unsolicited, commercial spam e-mails. One of these methods is known as an advance-fee fraud scheme; and this is exactly what Edna Fiedler was convicted of.

This type of spam works on an unsuspecting computer user’s trust in order to cash in big time. Through the use of an advance-fee fraud scheme known as the Nigerian Letter Scam, Edna Fielder and an accomplice attempted to defraud users out of their own money. There are several variations to this type of online scam, but the concept is the same; the victim is told that they will be given a large sum of money as long as they help the spammer “retrieve” it – usually from a non-existent bank account. The problem is that the spammer claims they are required to pay a fee in order to retrieve the money, and as long as the victim is willing to wire the spammer some cash then they will share the reward. Of course, the promised reward never comes.

A resident of Olympia, Washington, Edna Fiedler plead guilty in 2008 to charges of conspiracy to commit bank, wire and mail fraud against US citizens, specifically using the Internet. For her role in the Nigerian Letter Scam, Fiedler was sentenced to serve 2 years in prison and 5 years of probation.