They said millions of e-mails had been sent world-wide offering a commission to those willing to help recuperate money hidden abroad by people claiming to be from the former Iraqi regime.

Police said the scam was of the "Nigeria-Connection" kind, named after a false e-mail campaign for aid for Nigeria that surfaced in 1998.

After Nigeria, similar appeals began following crises in Togo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast. They appeared again when the Taliban regime fell in Afghanistan.

In the scam, a person identifies himself by e-mail as "Sharaf-du-din Kareeman" and claims to have taken refuge in Sweden, after escaping Iraq through Jordan.

He says he is seeking "investors" to help him get back 65 million dollars that he placed in accounts under false names before he fled Iraq and offers a "reward" of 35 percent interest on their investment.

Police said anyone caught in the scheme would never see their money again.

SPACE.WIRE