On May 8th’s “scam of the day” I warned you about the Jamaican lottery scam.  For the past few years Jamaica has become a center for telemarketing scams, particularly phony lottery scams.  As usual, you are told that you have won a lottery that you never entered, but that you have to pay administrative fees or taxes in order to collect your prize.  I am happy to report that this week the efforts of a joint police effort of Jamaican and American law enforcement resulted in eight arrests and the seizure of money, jewelry, flat screen television sets and luxury cars.

TIPS

Always be wary of contests telling you that you have won contests that you have never entered.  You will not have to pay administrative fees to collect prizes from legitimate lotteries and income taxes are either deducted from your prize or you pay them directly to the IRS; they are never collected by the lottery sponsor.  It is also a good idea to be skeptical of any telemarketing offers that come from the area code of Jamaica which is 876 which has turned into a scam center.