The Jamaican Lottery Scam has again been thrown into the international spotlight, with the island also getting negative reviews.
A news story aired yesterday evening on CNN featured a victim who committed suicide after shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to Jamaican scammers.
The report tells the tale of 81-year-old Albert Poland, a husband and father suffering from early dementia. Mr Poland sent thousands of dollars to the scammers with the hope of winning two million dollars. Realising that this was not happening, he shot himself.
The CNN crew travelled to Jamaica. It followed personnel from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) on a raid in Montego Bay. There a suspected scammer was arrested while trying to destroy evidence. The team reported that on an annual basis the lottery scam targets nearly 300 thousand Americans who send an estimated US$300 million annually.
US Ambassador to Jamaica Luis Moreno, states that it is difficult to track down how much money is lost by Americans to lottery scamming, and estimates that the figures may be higher. The story also points to the challenge faced by the police in cracking down on the scam, and the impact it is having in fuelling crime in some communities in Jamaica.
Jamaica is painted as a hub for lottery scamming, and the pain and destruction it causes American families are also highlighted. The report notes that warnings are again being issued for Americans to hang up their phone whenever they receive calls about winning any lottery.
The CNN report also highlighted the bitterness and hurt experienced by affected families. Chris Poland, the son of the suicide victim, said for years his father sent money to the Jamaican scammers. With the suicide fresh in his mind, he said Jamaica's anti-lottery scam laws may not be as harsh as he would like.
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