'Mother involved, grandfather involved, pickney involved. They make a lot of money and they are not afraid to talk about it'.

WE ARE are in the belly of Montego Bay, Jamaica's tourist capital. Not many visitors come to this area, which is inhabited by the street-savvy who like to party.

Our informant is one. She met us in a shop on a bright afternoon. She has intimate knowledge of the illicit multimillion-dollar scam that police say has fuelled much of the crime in Montego Bay, and knows many of the scammers, who are called 'players'.

She is, admittedly, scared. Terrified, actually. Her upper lip trembles, and beads of perspiration glisten on her smooth, dark forehead as she speaks about 'the game'.

Getting the 'leads'

"The business is big. Man a mek all J$52 million a year. All types of people get involved ... me caan really tell you dem, but the unemployed and some professionals too."

She asks for a cigarette to "calm her nerves" and almost backs out of the interview.

After a change of heart, she continues: "First, them (scammers) get the 'leads' - a spreadsheet which contains names, telephone numbers, addresses and other personal information. "This comes down from the States," she speaks softly.

The 'leads' are critical to the operations. When the 'drop' (package with names) arrives from the direct link in New York or wherever, "everybody gets busy", she explains.

Call victims

A batch of names, The Sunday Gleaner is told, costs between US$800 and US$1,500. One batch has as many as 500 names (potential victims). The list is shared among friends and relatives.

"Some people resell the 'leads', while others "work the sheet themselves," says the informant, who has been tempted to get involved on many occasions. "They call as many people as they can from the list, and tell dem sey dem win 'X' amount of money in sweepstakes.

The man dem no tek no talk from anybody, dem tell them to send certain things in order for them to get their prize," she discloses.

Many unsuspecting individuals and habitual gamblers fall for the trick. Most of the victims are Americans, but the scammers have also fleeced unsuspecting persons from Canada and Europe, another source who works for one of the remittance companies confides.

'Sweepstakes CD'

"The scammers bill the people dem for different t'ings, and ask them to send the money through a company to either dem real name or a mek up name. But dem build them ID, so everything work out legit," says our informant.

She paused and glanced furtively at the entrance of the building. Music blares from huge, black boxes on the sidewalk. As if on cue, she tells us about a 'sweepstakes CD' which is often played at celebration parties.

"One DJ press a CD with instructions on how to play the game. It mark 'unknown', but more time, after a big drawdown, the man dem have big parties, and the selector will play the CD. Many people learn a thing or two from it," she informs us.

This fraudulent game has taken root in Montego Bay, St James - the hub of offshore call centres in Jamaica - and has slowly spread to neighbouring parishes. Despite efforts by local law enforcers and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to capture leading players, the scam is flourishing.

"It's like a disease," says another Montegonian with whom The Sunday Gleaner spoke.

"Mother involved, grandfather involved, pickney involved. They make a lot of money and they are not afraid to talk about it. I am in a taxi and hear them discussing aspects of it. One day in a remittance office, I hear one on his phone telling a lady that he was slowly driving pass her house right now, and proceeded to describe her house. That man really sound believable," our informant says.

Police information indicates that scammers, including schoolchildren, make up to US$10,000 (J$720,000), on average, weekly.

International scams

Lottery scams abound internationally. In the state of Minnesota alone, in the United States, fraudulent lottery and sweepstakes scams account for at least US$30 million in personal losses each year.

Many losers are elderly, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division.

The Federal Trade Commission in the US gets more than 10,000 complaints a year from consumers about gifts, sweepstakes and prize promotions. Many of the consumers, it says, received telephone calls or letters telling them that they have won a big prize. But in order to claim, they have to buy something or pay.

lovelette.brooks@gleanerjm.com