KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A police task force in Jamaica arrested 10 people on suspicion of involvement in the Caribbean country’s lottery scam rings, authorities said Sunday.
The island’s Lottery Scam Task Force made the arrests during an operation in Browns Town in the mostly rural parish of St. Ann. Computers allegedly containing lottery scam documents and other devices were seized from several homes, according to police.
The 10 suspects in custody were being questioned and formal charges were expected to be filed, officials said. Their identities have not been released.
The scam often targets elderly Americans and typically begins with a phone call that informs targets that they have won an international lottery, but they first need to wire money to cover taxes. Victims who fall for the trick then get harassed for more payments.
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