Lotto scam 'fuels Jamaica crime'

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Not quite a Newb Joined: 04 Jun 2008 Posts: 74

Hopefully not posted already....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7666738.stm

By Nick Davis
BBC News, Kingston

More than 1,200 people have been killed in gang violence this year alone
Police in Jamaica say a lotto scam targeting US citizens is contributing to gang violence in the country.

Detectives say criminals are buying expensive high-powered weapons with the money sent by people who believe they have won a sweepstake on the island.

Despite attempts by detectives to break the scam for the past few years, it still remains active.

The operation is centred around Montego Bay, the country's second city on the north coast.

It is similar to schemes that operate in other parts of the world.

The con-artists illicitly get hold of personal information on potential victims such as their names, addresses and telephone numbers.

They then persuade them that they have won a lottery and need to send a fee to process their winnings.

Police here say they particularly go after retirees from the US, and in the past they have had reports of people's entire life savings being taken.

Officers say scammers are making thousands of dollars a week from wire transfers to the island, and that cash is now being used to buy expensive high-calibre weapons that are helping to fuel the violence that has seen more than 1,200 people killed since the start of the year.

Assistant Commissioner Les Green from the Jamaica Constabulary Force says the scam is linked to other crimes.

"We know guns are being bought, but there are also robberies and killings as a result of the amount of money that is in these communities," he said.

"The lotto scammers won't go themselves to collect the money. They ask other people, and sometimes that doesn't come back so they order a robbery or hit, and it increases the amount of crime as there are millions of US dollars involved in this flooding in every day."

Police are targeting people involved in the lotto scam and are seizing their assets.

However, for many people it is a long process to recover what they have lost.

Detectives say they recently had to drop a case after an American grandmother killed herself after losing nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Shocked

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:05 am

It is ironic that we see rare action being taken aginst scammers because they are spending their loot on the wrong thing - weapons.

If they spent it on flash cars, bling and hookers would we see any great rush to stop them?

Not quite a Newb Joined: 04 Jun 2008 Posts: 74

I wonder if a mod should contact 'Assistant Commissioner Les Green' and see if there is anything we can do to help? I haven't been on here in a while (use to post as TheBarSteward a couple of years ago) but I remember there was a LE officer in SA who used to help out - perhaps the cops in Jamaica might be a bit pro-active if we give them some leads?

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:11 pm

I got the impression from the BBC report that these scammers use letters and phone calls rather than email
.

Trophy Videos · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:28 pm

Your are probably right, Mr. Tambourine Man. I can't recall very many scam emails from Jamaica.

Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:39 pm

My Mum (in the UK), who is in her mid eighties, gets lots of phone calls from scammers though she is not likely to be fooled.

She passed one on to me when I was visiting and it was using a recorded message and an automated switchboard. I presume that it was all an automated process and you only get passed on to a live person when you show you are interested by pressing the numbers offered.

I'd like to get one of these insects trapped under a glass. Twisted Evil

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