Message Board Archives
I wwill never understand how people get scammed
Chrissy
2017-04-02 17:47:25
Here we go again
Shirley thought she had made a new friend. The elderly Maine resident would don a dress and jewels and wait at the back door for the charming young Jamaican man she had met over the phone.
The couple had developed a long-distance relationship after he called to say she had won $24m US and a new car in a lottery. He appeared untroubled by Shirleys dementia and asked for a picture of her.
But he never appeared. Instead, he harassed Shirley and her family with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of phone calls in a complicated scam that eventually led her to lose more than $200,000 and her home.
She would stand by the back door in her jewels, waiting for him to give her her new car or take her to dinner or to show her the house he was building for her, said Shirleys niece, Sandra Raymond.
Shirley is just one of countless Americans most of them elderly and vulnerable who have fallen victim to Jamaicas lottery scam, a criminal cottage industry that is estimated to involve at least 30,000 people. Over the past 20 years, the fraud is believed to have been worth an estimated $1bn each year, overtaking the drugs trade in terms of illicit contributions to Jamaicas economy.
Peter Bunting is the Opposition spokesperson on crime.
black
2017-04-02 20:34:49
In reply to Chrissy
Only scumbags prey on the elderly.
ProWI
2017-04-03 00:04:54
Not only the elderly are scammed. I have an Argentinian friend, a well-educated professional, who fell for a $100,000US scam. Well, actually, given his age, one can call him elderly, but he's well respected in his field and still practicing.
granite
2017-04-03 05:18:52
In reply to ProWI
I am always surprised by the way people get scammed,I see and read about it daily in England,most of the times the it is so un-sophisticated,you wonder if these vulnerable victims have a brain.
When I get emails about a win in Spain or other countries,I just delete it,I also get emails purporting to be from the Tax Office telling me I am owed 1000s of pounds,and could I give my bank details,I send back a reply telling them to "stick it".
BeachBum
2017-04-03 17:06:07
It's a numbers' game. These scammers dial for dollars and eventually hit the jackpot.
Outswinger
2017-04-03 18:54:31
In reply to granite
I send back a reply telling them to "stick it".
Actually, that is not very smart. First, you verify that you are actually there and they can be sure that you are a real target they can aim their more sophisticated stuff at.
Plus, you run the risk of annoying them to the point they may want to get to you with a vengeance.
And third, if it is a very, very talented hacker, you could actually harm yourself by downloading viruses depending on what you click on to reply, 'unsubscribe', or some such thing. Best action is to hit that darn DELETE button yuh hear! Lef dem.
Chrissy
2017-04-03 19:04:37
In reply to Outswinger
That's what I do.
The few times they called me I told them my phone is monitored and they left me in peace.
Outswinger
2017-04-03 19:07:25
In reply to Chrissy
Good. Itry to block their numbers but the scamps change dem. I believe they use computer programs to call, and change the apparent location they are calling from. Ever see a call from your local area, but caller ID still says 'out of area'? That should raise alarms.
Chrissy
2017-04-03 19:09:45
In reply to Outswinger
I'm lucky - haven't been bothered often but then if I don't recognize a number I rarely answer
granite
2017-04-03 19:28:44
In reply to Outswinger
I actually did it once but never did it again,and just like you have explained,I never did it again.