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Subscribe to RSSMONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – The lead vehicle of a motorcade from the Jamaican lottery scam task force rushes through traffic and pulls up to a modest neighborhood of single-story homes. Armed officers jump out to stake out the perimeter and a U.S. special agent for Homeland Security investigations shows an NBC News team an extravagant (by Jamaican standards) three-story mansion jutting from the hillside.
Multiple electric lines run into the home, which has security cameras, a gilded electronic gate and elaborate balconies. We’re told the owner is awaiting trial -- one of 109 Jamaicans charged so far under a cooperative effort between the U.S. and Jamaica to crack down on phone scams targeting elderly Americans in an effort known as Project JOLT.
This is Jamaica’s way of letting Americans know that it knows it has a problem and is trying to do something about it. Authorities say Jamaican scammers have become increasingly sophisticated, aggressive and successful at talking elderly Americans out of hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, so many Americans are falling for Jamaican scams that Jamaican officials claim it’s hurt their country’s reputation.
“If we can't get it under control and hopefully eradicate it completely then it's going to have an impact on the legitimate businesses in Jamaica,” said Peter Bunting Jamaica’s Minister of National Security.
This Caribbean island country is known for ocean breezes, hospitality and a laid back lifestyle. But it also has a troubling side that is becoming familiar to some unlucky Americans.
Jamaican con artists are defrauding mostly elderly targets by selling them a bogus dream. Millions of dollars, new cars and homes won in lotteries and sweepstakes the seniors never entered, according to victims and law enforcement officials.
Norman Breidenbaugh, 81, of Baltimore gave over $400,000 to lottery scammers who promised him millions in cash and a new car once he paid the taxes on the winnings.
His hope was to have enough money to move his wife, Cindy, who was suffering from dementia, from a nursing facility back into their home.
“I believe in the marriage vows I took, which were, you know, 'Til death do us part,’ So I was doing everything I could to get money to bring her home to take care of her,” he said.
Even after she died in 2009, Breidenbaugh kept paying. Eventually, he lost his home and every penny he had.
Some of the callers identified themselves as agents from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service and the FBI, confirming his winnings and telling him he had to pay taxes or fees to receive the prizes.
“They tell you that they're this, that and the other thing and you want to believe they're legitimate and it turns out they're scum,” Breidenbaugh said.
His experience is not unique. The Federal Trade Commission reported 30,000 complaints related to Jamaican lottery scams in 2012. However, the number of actual victims is likely far higher. Those are only complaints from victims who knew where the calls originated from. The FTC estimates fewer than 10 percent of victims ever report the crime.
Many elderly victims are ashamed of being duped. “Embarrassment is the scammers' greatest ally,” says Deputy Chief William King of York County Sheriff’s office in Maine.
King’s first Jamaican scam case was in 2011. Since then, he has spoken to hundreds of victims from around the country and has observed common threads -- intimidation, threats, harassment and manipulation.
To those who question how anyone could fall for such a scam, King points to the island’s legitimate telemarketing outsourcing industry, which officials say may have been a breeding ground for early scammers. “They're trained to get somebody on the telephone, to overcome objections, to create a fantasy,” he said.
Once a victim is hooked, scammers call victims incessantly, dozens of times a day. When the senior tries to sever ties, swindlers often change the victim’s number without their knowledge so no one else can reach them. They even use Google Earth to describe a senior’s neighborhood and frighten them into paying, authorities say.
Some scammers use romance to reel in victims, feigning interest in lonely seniors, who pay, in part, to maintain the connection.
The United States and Jamaica began working together to eradicate scamming last year. In 2009, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, formed the Joint Operations Linked to Telemarketing task force, or (JOLT). And last year, Jamaica formed the Major Organized Crime and Anti-corruption Task Force (MOCA), charged with investigating lottery scammers.
Jamaican authorities say that as they have cracked down on drug trafficking, more and more criminals have moved into scams for easy money. The low barrier to entry makes it an appealing illicit endeavor, they say. All you need is a phone, a computer and some phone numbers.
Those phone numbers come from lead lists or what some scammers call “suckers” lists, originating from the United States and then sold in Jamaica. So valuable are the lists that criminals are killing one another over them, authorities say.
Bunting, the Jamaican national security minister, estimates 40 to 50 percent of all criminal activity in St. James Parish, the center of scamming activity in the country, is related to the endeavor. .
MOCA has made over 400 arrests, but only a quarter of those have resulted in charges. Where authorities cannot get convictions for scamming, they say they charge victims for any offense they can. The goal is to disrupt the activity.
“If you recall, the infamous Al Capone in Chicago, was not sent to prison, and he did not die in prison, while serving time for bootlegging or other organized crime activities, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Carl Williams, the assistant police commissioner. “He was charged and sentenced for tax evasion, so that's the same principle we take toward doing our enforcement.”
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, acknowledges that the new Jamaican administration is taking a stronger approach to combat scamming, but she says it is too little too late.
“For years the Jamaican government turned a blind eye to this fraud,” Collins said. “Only recently has the Jamaican government, because of the threat to the reputation of the island as a vacation haven, taken any kind of action to try to crack down and stop these scams.”
Jamaican officials have a difficult task: They must also combat public opinion, because some Jamaicans don’t see scamming as a crime.
“I think the one who give it should be blamed,” one resident told NBC News as he crossed Montego Bay’s bustling Sam Sharpe Square, “not the one who just make a little phone call.” He called scamming “a smart thing to do.”
Kim Nichols of Hermon, Maine, knows the operations are sophisticated. She estimates her 77-year-old father, Bill, who did not want us to use his last name, gave Jamaican scammers over $85,000 in just six months.
“I mean they're incredibly professional at what they do,” she said. “I was amazed at how complicated and layered this scam is and how good at it they were unfortunately.”
Nichols said her father, a retired airline pilot, seemed an unlikely candidate to fall for such a swindle.
“He's just very careful with his money, so everyone was very surprised when this happened,” she said.
Her father said he had multiple callers hounding him at the same time, some claiming to be IRS agents or Treasury agents.
“It was hard to tell who was real and who was fictitious,” he lamented. “And I guess they all were in the final analysis of it. I'd say if they can fool me, they can fool anybody.”
Breidenbaugh, the man who lost everything to the scammers, says there is only one way for seniors to protect themselves from becoming a victim.
“Please don't talk to them,” he said. “Hang that damn phone up. Because if they get their fingers into you, they got you for good.”
And U.S. and Jamaican officials both have one message for Americans: If you haven't played the lottery, you didn't win the lottery.
Lisa Myers is NBC News' senior investigative correspondent; Talesha Reynolds is a producer in the NBC News Washington Bureau.
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First step is to put your phone on the DO NOT CALL federal list. If anyone calls you that you don't know, report them to the feds. My unlisted number was called by a robo-system that does computer random number combinations. Those can't be blocked by the DNC listing, but you can report the call. Hang up immediately is right.
Dumping the land line should be the first step. Next, install a cellular phone that looks and works as simple as an old ma Bell phone. Third, block all relatives numbers that borrow money--the greatest elderly scam.
The DNC registry is a joke. I receive calls daily, reporting every one of them. What needs to occur is a new system for punishing violators of the DNC.
Scammers ignore the DO NOT CALL list. I know, they call me too. But I have learned to just not answer the phone if I don't recognize the number. I have only had my number for about 5 years, but whoever had it before me had some serious debt issues. Because of that I was hounded until just last year by debt collectors. And then finally someone with a foreign accent claiming to be from the Dept of Homeland Justice (which of course does not exist and is trading on the names of familiar agencies to us Americans to scare me) called and left a long voicemail claiming he was going to have me arrested and take my social security number away (can't do that...what an idiot!). I actually recorded it because the call was kind of hilarious. My friends and I had a good laugh.
But it makes me mad as heck to think how they take advantage of vulnerable seniors. So I check in on some of my elderly neighbors all the time and often talk about this issue to keep them aware to be careful who they talk to on the phone.
The Federal Do Not Call list doesn't stop scammers from calling you...if they did then I wouldn't get 10 calls a week from "Hi, the is Rachael, or Ann, or Tiffany from Card Holder Services." or the new scam of installing a new $5,000.00 GE security system...blah blah blah...our federal government doesn't care and only shuts these folks down when it appears they may get negative press and they have to actually get out of the office and out of donuts.
We have the same problem in this country with people called bankers and oil men whom politicians don't see as criminals. They want to call it free enterprise but I call them con men in white shirts but the sad part is those politicians that refuse to pass any laws or regulations (there's that bad word again) to protect the public.
@RwEvans
I tell the called that I have their number and if I receive another call I shall report them. Usually stops them but I do agree that the "Do Not Call" listing does not stop them anymore than it stops the constant "robocalls" from political groups.
The DNC is a joke. They do absolutely nothing to stop the telemarketers. If you want to cut the federal budget, start with the DNC people. They are worse than the telemarketers for sucking up money and doing nothing for it. Total government waste. As for the telemarketers, no matter who they are or how legitimate they say they are, call them every filthy name you have ever heard of. Do not hang up on them. Just never, never give them a chance to speak. It is a very good way to unload every filthy word you have ever imagined as well as unloading all of your bottled up emotions. God will bless you for helping him to clean up his poluted earth. They deserve everything you can throw at them and much more. The only good thing these filthy scum do is to let you blast them with every negative thought you haev ever had in your life. It is much better than a trip to the gym for getting your blood pumping. Remember, you paid for your telephone for your own private use. They have absolutely no business or right of any kind in calling you and trying to get money out of you and that is their only purpose in calling. None of these money sucking leaches are legitimate and this includes all of the phoney, so called charitys and politicals. Do not be afraid. they can not do anything to you because they are illegal to begin with and they are only interested in SUCKERS. " ARE YOU A SUCKER ?"
greed, desperation, et cetera. pt barnum was right when he said "there's a sucker born every minute." anybody who fields calls from unknown people and sends money to god knows where is ENTIRELY to blame. don't be naive.
Unfortunately, people will be a$sholes, it's the human condition. Jamaica will not take this serious (until now), because they are on a shoe string budget and owes a crap ton to the IMF. They will only allocate funds to these things when it's out of hand. I will end by quoting this from the article.
I hate to tell you but I am not an elderly and received one such phone call as I was sitting at work a few weeks ago. I am a Jamaican, a US citizen but I call Jamaica as I still have family there. The scammer was calling from a Jamaican number, I picked up the phone thinking it was a family member, he proceeded to tell me that I won some sweepstake and I needed to claim it. I asked him where he was calling from and he said my home city, I politely said goodbye.
I love going to Jamaica. Beautiful country!!!
The "Do Not call" list doesn't work. After p[uttting my name on the list, I still get calls from people that say they are callling for donations for the State Police. My answer is, always, "My acccountant, or my Oil company guy never calls me up to ask for donations. WHy should the cops?" Occasionallly I'lll ask for a number to calll back." and Schoolyard - Beautiful country and the people are the best - kind of like Ireland with black people instead of Irish.
The last couple of times someone has called claiming my windows is giving them error messages or I have won anything. I have been calling them a liar and telling them that no matter what they believe in, God, Karma, Voodoo or whatever that the negative energy they are putting out will come back to them. Then I hang up. These are bad people and what happens when people put too much responsibility on the victim. You can do your best to protect yourself from crime, but that just makes smarter criminals. Granted some of the calls are laughable, but some are smarter than others and they target the elderly because the mind does go. I mean some people are worse than others, but some might still seem sharp, but lose just enough to not catch the little clues that say 'hey, something is not right here'.
The "Do Not Call" list blocks nothing. The telemarketers are suppose to check all numbers against this list before calling but they don't. You can file an on-line complaint with the FTC but they do nothing with it.
They are now on Crais List as well advertising homes that are for rent, all you have do do is supply them with your personal infomration and sent a check for the first months rent and a security deposit. Of course the homeowner is a Jamacian doctor who is out of the country........... They are slick ones for sure.
Jamaica is just a bad as Puerto Rico.
Heck, in Puerto Rico, most of the population has had their Identity STOLEN.
Goes to show everyone.....if crooks don't have money, they will get yours....and...if crooks don't have guns, they will get the guns from law abiding citizens.
I have dealt with this for 5 years with my widowed mother. Here are some fast tips. Forget any Federal, local, state agency helping. THese are international issues and there IS NO HELP. I have tried FBI, CIA, State Atty General office, Post master general, CIA, Secret Service, Local Police, Attorneys, Judges, Federal Trade Commission. You are on your own. You may be told you have to start with your local authorities and let them escalate. Well, when they called the FBI, they laughed at them. I have received notices from US Atty Generals office and Miami POst master general stating my moms SS number showed up, send us information. First time I tried to send information, no one returns calls then number quits working. Guess there are lot of people calling them about this. DOnt bother changing numbers, they will find you. Changed number 3 times. ALso call block, Do not call wont work. Go Google "Phone number spoofing". I can make ANY number show up on your phone. These Jamacians use number spoofing. Yes, they are professionals and are very good at what they do. My final answer was to use my power of attorney to change all my moms mail to me, lock up her bank and savings accounts and do remote call forwarding on her home phone to my cell phone. They have her COMPLETELY convinced she has won the lottery and she tells me she will spend every penny she has to get her millions. These people need to be dealt with---severely. I tell you something else that is terrible, there is one LARGE online network entity with a whitepages lookup. Go to any city and put in a common last name, not first name. THis will do search on last names. Now scroll down the list. WHy do they think they have to provide AGES of some of these people. Seems a great way to find old people to scam on. Where is our privacy? SO is it better to let someone know the age for some legitimate purpose or let scammers know who they can target.
Jamaica...........the Nigeria of the Caribbean.
Just another hole to stay away from....
Our cruise ship docked at Jamaica for 8 hours, we will never go back to that arm pit, everywhere we went we were intiminated by beggars who wanted some RESPECT for coming on to their island, everybody on the cruise ship talked about being strong armed and harassed untill they paid up, the cops do nothing to these lazy @!$%#s. Even at private resorts like Sandals they hold their hands out and want their respect for doing nothing. @!$%# them all I'm never going back.
Sometimes I wonder if the do not call list is actually used in the reverse of how it was intended. I've been on it for a long time and if it works, I imagine that my phone would be smoking from ringing so often if I were not on it.
Just yesterday I got two from the Dominican Republic. Others had reported the same number. Area code definitely from the Dominican Republic.
Funny thing about these calls is that they seem to run in batches. I will get multiple calls from different scammers for about 7-10 days straight and then nothing for a couple weeks. Then another batch starts. I just don't answer if I don't recognize the caller.
Some phones allow you to block numbers. Others have selectable ring tones. I assign a ring tone to everybody I consider a legitimate number and if I get the default ring, I just ignore it and check the number later. If it's important, they'll leave a message. When I Google a suspect number, at least 90% of the time somebody has already reported it as scam.
Something else I have tried which seems to work is playing a recording in the phone. It is that electronic tone, (3 loud distinct tones), and message you get when you call a number not in service. I've read where robocall systems will recognize this and take your number off their list as being a invalid number. It seems like it might actually work as I have tried it on those that keep calling and I've identified as a scam. Never got a repeat call from those numbers again.
You can find a WAV file for it on the web or make your own by calling a known bad number and recording it. I believe you can usually get it by dialing an invalid exchange within your area code. Typically 000 and 999 are not used although depending on the system, you may or may not get it. I believe at one time all 5's would do it. Once you get the tone you can put it on a small recorder of even one of those cheap memory minder recorders and keep it right by the phone. The tones are recognized by electronic equipment and it will fool any human caller without fail. If you really don't want to be bothered at all, you can put it on your answering machine.
I was hoping to fine a solution here but after reading texas999 I am very discouraged. My parents was just part of the grandparents scam. They sent money to the Dominican Republic to help a grandson who was in trouble. The law enforcement didn't want to write a report because they said it won't help find them or get their money back. I thought of contacting a news station and somehow get the Western union,banks or whatever other sources of wiring money to these countries, to maybe question the elders or require another family member be present before wiring the money. After I told my story at work, at least three other people had similar stories. My friends father was lucky in that his banker had known he for years and refused to send the money for he because he feared it was a scam and convinced the father to call his daughter first. SO FRUSTRATING
These scum bags will just move to another crappy ass island and start all over again. Get on the DO NOT call list and initaite programs (i know it costs money) to educate folks, placing special emphasis on the eldery, NOT TO OPEN OR TAKE CALLS FROM ANYONE they do not personally know.
Just kill them all.
When will they take on the Nigerian princes?
What do you expect, didn't the pirates make Jamaica?
Jamaica has a history of piracy and criminality that continues today. It is much better known for that legacy than tropical breezes.
Since the victim is being called from Jamaica the Do Not Call List will do no good. The thing to remember is first, you have to have entered a contest to win the contest, second, you never have to pay to win unless you are gambling at a casino, third Do NOT CALL 876 area code. It is NOT toll free. It is the area/country code for an international call to Jamaica and is very expensive.
Best defense if you get a call about an unknown delivery or prize is do not talk to them at all. The scammers will eventually try to rob a different victim. A legitimate contest will NEVER ask you to pay a portion of the taxes, delivery, storage or any other fees or costs involved in retrieving your winnings.
Make sure the Jamaican authorities do something about this by blocking all calls from Jamaica to the US.
Good idea.
Stop all revenue going to State-side Telcos, as a result of a few scammers.
That'll teach em.
I'm in need of desperate help on this topic. My 87year mother believes these scammers, sweepstakes, etc etc. she gives them money to enter their sweepstakes scams, so far they haven't wipe her out financially. But they slowly draining her bank account. She gets 50 pieces of mail a day all sweepstakes cause she is on every list. She refuses to listen to me claiming I don't know what I'm talking about. I did put a Equifax lock on her credit, trying to get off the mailing list. But it doesn't work on international scammers. I don't know what else I can do
More stories like this needs to be broadcasted on the news, so the elderly can hear it.
Sorry to hear your Mom has been taken in by these scammers. Sadly many seniors appearing to be mostly of sound mind still experience bouts of dementia. The signs are very subtle and different in every person, so it can be hard to spot. And it makes reasoning with them impossible. This is what these scammers are trading on because it makes seniors doubly gullible to their scams. To protect her you might have to make the hard choice to control her finances. Not an easy decision to make so you have my sympathy.
You wonder where our Federal governemnt is in all this? Too busy talking about gun control, and stopping your from drinking big sodas, supporting the Man Made Global Warming BS, and worring about cutting 2 cents out of a dollar they spend. National security is their number one job, but sadly we taxpaying Americans come last.
The Federal Government should have nothing to do with this. People should not be STUPID like this man. I am not sorry he lost $400,000. He should have lost it...he was just stupid. Don't tell me he did for his wife, he did for himself. expecting more for just a little. He deserves everything he gets.
@Louise White
If it is indeed a problem, and it appears as if it might be, there is always the last resort. Go to court and ask for control of her finances.
Another option which is not quite so draconian is to sit down with her AND an attorney or her Priest, Minister, Rabbi or who ever and see if THEY can convince her she's being suckered. That's what my wife had to do with her mother. Once a "non familial participant" was involved, all of a sudden she realized she was being suckered.... out of about $100,000 to that date. Now my M-I-L contacts my wife if there are any "issues" with her money, and if we think she's being suckered.
Let's stop calling the elderly folks stupid, when things like this happen.
I don't think they're stupid. They never would have made the decision to send money to one of these scammers a couple of decades prior, so something must have turned off in their minds as they got older.
Can happen to anyone, and they need to be educated and have other safeguards put in place on their behalf, in order to save them from themselves.
Perhaps when they make significant withdrawals the purpose can be vetted prior to releasing the funds.
Who knows?
At the very least, perhaps other family members can be alerted to strange bank activity.
Dick - wow, being a little judgemental aren't we? These scammers know how to get to these people. Whether they are preying on their sense of duty, like helping their families or following the law like some of them are being told, or their loneliness, which I suspect in this case, when you are 87, your faculties are not always as good as they would have been when they were 20 years younger. They also have a harder time dealing with the stress of constant harassment. Give them a break. You're going to get old too.
I think everyone who has an elderly family member living alone should go to them and talk to them about these very real dangers. Alot of them won't have the internet. If they have an idea that something might be up, maybe they will reach out for help when someone gives them a call....
Dick sounds Jamaican and could be endorsing that despicable act
If there is a paper trail that these monies were wired to Jamaica, get their government to pay back every last dime. This will probably push them to bring the perpetrators to justice who I understand are very visible in that country's small population.
How do you get the Jamaican government to pay for a private citizen's crime? Have you looked at the mound of debt Jamaica owes to the IMF and not to mention the fact that (beaches or not), it's a third world country.
Who cares about you and the IMF?
You must by now realize that Jamaicans do not speak like Americans and no way can they fake an American accent. These are people who are either Americans living in Jamaica or use voice changing software. No way can they fool me and it's rather silly that anyone can be fooled to think a FBI agent sound like a Jamaican.
Secondly, it is impossible to trace calls these days; they don't use the (876) area code, but a digital phone VIA (VOIP) Voice over IP to allow for a local USA call.
As a Jamaican, I need only to open my mouth and everyone ask: "Where is that accent from?" No, I do not speak in "Patois", involved in any from of criminal activities; but agree that those who do, should be hung upside down until drained of all bodily liquid.
It's a darn shame that people pry on those less fortunate and should be held accountable for their actions. It does not matter where they are from, what matters is that people should treat others in the same manner as they want to be treated. A darn shame!
If you get a call from someone claiming to be the FBI, IRS, or other government agency, tell them you won't discuss it over the phone, and that you will immediately go to the local offices of the agency they claim to be, and will discuss it there. Then hang up. If they call back, don't answer it. If their number is not blocked, write it down, and inquire at the agency they claim to be representing.
You lead a sheltered life. There are many FBI and other government employees with "accents".
That's silly to think all calls from Jamaica should be blocked or can be blocked. That's not the point here; if that's how it should be, all calls within the US should be blocked also.
Do you know anything about Voice Over IP? Even Land Lines area code 876 can't be blocked and there are no laws to do that. Instead, why not say authorities should investigate and bring to justice these criminals?
Yes, the elderly guy who lost over 80,000 should get the deed to that mansion on the hill; he can sell it for 200,000 US. How about that, HUH?
Pursuing justice is a noble course, but it is an "after the fact" action. By the time it succeeds, lots of innocent people have been hurt. Scammers are proliferating. I get about 15 calls a week from Card Services, Unknown, some security firm whose message starts with "Every week the FBI reports break-ins...." In fact I actually received that call while at work on my work phone and a few of my co-workers did as well! Being on the DO NOT CALL list does not stop this. While I don't answer, they just keep coming and I feel harassed when they call and call and I am at home. I basically have to unplug my phone. But now I am getting them on my cell phone too.
We need a better method than just jailing these people, because that is NOT a proven method to cutting the head off the beast. And it definitely does not work when these people do not live in America, which unfortunately is most of them.
I cancelled my land line because the only calls I was getting were these scammers. It's got to be costing the phone companies lots of customers. Maybe if it eats into their bottom line enough, they will help get rid of the problem. As it is now, the phone companies make megabucks from the phone calls' connect time.
The phone company does not monitor phone calls to determine if they are "good" or "bad". Would you want them to do so?
jerryb, that is the misconception people have about cellphone numbers. Computer selection systems can dial a cell number just as easily as a land line. Even my MagicJack number has been called. Skype is not secured either. Because these calls are often being made through a computer, they can go out to any type of "phone" communication system.
My 78 year old mother, who has early dementia and lives in a nursing home, was a victim of these scams that
has left her thousands of $ in debt. She only receives $200 a month and has no resources, only now-ruined credit. She has limited discretion and was victimized by many different means as you reported, including also outright threats to her life, and calls from people who said they were US federal authorities. They emotionally manipulated her by promising millions of dollars time after time. Their tactics were so effective on her that she w/could not stop her unless we petitioned the court to declare her incompetent. We would hate to do that to her emotionally. It's hard enough to surrender independence to live in a nursing home. The source was known by authorities to be coming from Jamaica. This was reported to all appropriate authorities to no avail; including the nursing home staff and administration, Oneida County Sheriff, NY State Police, NYS AG's Office, and the FTC. No one even made a formal complaint. All they did was tell her that they knew about these scams and there was nothing they could do but tell her to stop sending money, and the fact that by participating in these foreign sweepstakes she is committing a felony. Nice. So now they were even threatening an elderly woman with limited mental abilities. This situation is continuing as she now just hides her activities and, other than by legal process, which would further affect her, there is nothing we can do, and seemingly, no one who even cares. If there are, in fact, authorities that address these crimes, how can we contact them to report her case? We know she is out of her money, but she has copious files, bank records and other evidence that may assist in prosecution. We would hope that this may finally stop her, and prevent other targeted vulnerable seniors from a similar fate. More needs to be done here in the US to prevent these scams.
What this story is NOT saying is that where the money trail ends. No way can money be sent to Jamaica in large quantities without a RED Flag. Case in point, if anyone sends or try to sent US $1500 or more, they need to show an ID. Secondly, we have the where to and then the what banks to consider. This story is a short fall of an incomplete news worthy article.
In my opinion, the dollars sent by those people, is first deposited in banks in the US, then transferred. RED flag is automatically triggered for any large sum. Crime is simple that and should be dealt with as such; matters not the country.
This has nothing to do with old people. It has everything to do with stupid and ignorant people. These people would have been scammed the same way 50 years ago if it existed because they are stupid and ignorant.
My mother and mother in law would never fall for this crap because they are smart enough to understand that it is crap.
My friend's mother lives in his spare bedroom because she gave all her money to a cable TV preacher. That was 20 years ago, and she's still unable to recover financially.
Interesting how the gullible feel they were doing the right thing, and still continue to feel that way even after the scam is over and they are left with nothing but memories of the starving children they think they fed.
you hit that nail on the head.
p.s. nice cat, looks just like mine.
I'd never fall for anything like this today. But I can't predict what state I'll be in 50 years from now when my brain cells are dying off by the millions. Don't be so arrogant.
Judgmental much? Obviously you come from stock that's vastly superior to the ignorant masses. The word "ignorant" would actually apply much more to you than to the people taken in by these scammers. You - and mouth-breathers like you - are the reason so many of these crimes go unreported. Just sit contentedly in your smug little world. Have fun.
Regular Person-
Are you sure about that? My parents and my positions are slowly changing because of my mom's health. I'm pretty sure my dad wouldn't fall for anything like this either, but he finally started shredding mail about 2yrs ago and they've have been using the DNC but they still get calls. They also have caller ID and won't answer 1-800 calls either.
My mom was diagnosed with copd and was calling me regularly about her meds because they made her feel weird. I found out she'd go to the doctor walk out with a script and just take the meds. I couldn't believe it! She's finally reading about the side effects.
They even wanted me to look up to look up 9 different meds and how each one interacts with the other. Sure I could of spent the whole day doing that, but I called the pharmacist instead. My parents are not stupid people either. They've just changed as they've gotten older and so far they are letting me stay involved in their decisions which really is the only way to help and watch out for them.
Good for you, your mother and mother-in-law are such smart people giving you much reason to be judgmental. So judgmental narrow and ignorant.
These phoney, filthy, illegal call scums need to be used for Drone Practice. Just blast them and never look back. The only way to deal with such interbred scum, is to remove them from the face of the Earth. They only laugh at the police, weak courts, and laughabley little fines.
Like hotels and restaurants?
Or drugs?
Rule of thumb: Anything to do with Jamaica is a rip-off they are a hotbed for stealing from you I would never set foot in that place !
wytravelr - i live here in Jamaica - believe me it is not all that bad :) - we have crime and heck so do you! So here's the deal, you dont generalise Jamaica as a rip off and i wont generalise USA as a breeding bed for psychos...
I take it you are Jamaican? Why should we believe you?
These phony, filthy, illegal call scums need to be used for Drone Practice. Just blast them and never look back. The only way to deal with such interbred scum, is to remove them from the face of the Earth. They only laugh at the police, weak courts, and laughabley little fines.
I hate to say this, but people need to wise up. Criminals don't care about you, they just want your money. First, get caller ID and a answering machine. Never answer the phone if it's a number you don't recognize. If it's important, they'll leave a message and you can call them back if you choose. Second, think about what you're doing. How could you possibly have won a lottery or contest you've never entered? If you get a call saying you've won something, tell these @!$%#s to eff off and hang up. People can't scam you if you don't let them.
We should try not to blame the victim. The people who are scamming are in the wrong. A lot of elderly people enter many different lotteries and even if you keep track of them, sometimes it is a different company that doles out the prizes. I have twice won a contest through Fed Ex and both times there was a different company calling me to claim the prize. Both times I was suspicious, but it turned out to be legit. I'm sure that the people who called were wondering why I didn't seem more excited. It usually took me a minute to even remember that I entered because months had gone by and it was just a random thing. But they did not ask for money and they had legitimate paperwork. It is sad that I could not just jump for joy right away, but it is because of bad people in the article that takes away the simple joys of actually winning something.
i would scam them to come to the usa to pick up the money. then, me and my biker buddys would "party" with them for a very very long time.
Send me money. I'll send you more in return. Really.
I'm so sorry for those who are duped out of every penny they had, but I can't help but wonder in this day and age why it still happens. Good grief, there are public service ads on TV and the radio all the time - why can't one be run about this scam. Or, why can't church groups and the senior centers print hand-outs about this? It doesn't have to be fancy. It just needs to state the facts and how to avoid this.
The only people stupid enough to fall for these phony scum calls are the greedy. If everybody wasn't out to make a fast buck, no one could be scammed. Listen to any victim's ( ? ) story and you will hear that they thought they were going to make a lot of money off from these callers. Be happy and not greedy. It is your own fault if you let the scammers take you because you thought you were taking them.
In many cases, I think you're absolutely correct. But I have some real sympathy for older people, especially caregivers like the one in this article, who are worried half to death about their spouses, unsure about how they'll be able to take care of them and are exhausted from the effort. They may be suffering health ailments of their own in addition to the possibility of some unknown degree of dementia in their own right. Add it all up and they're vulnerable to con artists in ways they almost certainly would not have been at a younger, healthier time of their lives. It just seems that they need advocates and champions to help them at a time when they're weaker and more vulnerable than the rest of us.
Gary-1286606: Get real, the man that needed money to take his wife home from the nursing home had already given $400,000 to these people. How much more money do you need to take care of your wife. He was a Greedy old man and lost some of his money. But your right he could have some unknown degree of dementia, like " STUPID, CRAZY, IGNORANT ". Anybody that would send money to someone they did not know over a phone call, has to be brain dead. I'm glad this idiot is someone I don't know WOW you talking about dumb....HaHaHa...what a dumbass. He got what he asked for " A SCAM ".
Your compassion is underwhelming.
It is the nigerian 419 scam that these guys learned from. It is an African scam or can be more aptly called a Nigerian Scam.
Feds knew about this but do not have the tools to tackle this.
A simple Congressional action declaring the same status for Jamaica as has existed for Cuba for the past 50 years would prevent US tourism and all other forms of commerce with Jamaica. Then just stand back and watch how fast the Jamaican government gets its ass in gear to solve this stupid problem. Cut off the economic gravy train (US dollars) and we'll get their attention so damn fast it will make your head spin. But there's no viable middle ground and if we do anything less this problem will remain unsolved for decades.
IDIOT!!!!
ameridian .... Seriously??? You make me laugh out loud!!!
And how many other island countries are you going to have to do this to? It is true that each one of these governments allow scam artists to operate in their countries, it is called the; " Kick back system ". But how do you stop them from doing it? Just educate the call receivers and it will put the callers out of business. If there is no market, there can be no supply business. Check this out on other illegal business, prostitution, drugs, gambling, guns, and anything for a fast buck.
This is ridiculous. I am a Jamaican, living in Jamaica and am telling you the Lottery scam is more complex/complicated than it seems to you. Our government is doing their endeavor best to combat this illicit practice. It is nothing I nor the government is proud of. Hearing about others being conned out of thousands of dollars always evoke some sentiments in me as well as my family. Further more, Cuba is doing fairly well without the American investment...We must understand that we can't "fight fire with fire" and their is more than just scamming to Jamaica!!