Lotto scam complaints skyrocket in two years

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the Unites States says complaints about the Jamaica-based lottery scam sky-rocketed to 29,000 in 2012 from 1,867 in 2007.

It says the likely number of victims could be far higher as many scams go unreported by victims because of embarrassment or fear of retaliation.

The FTC believes the scam and other similar lottery schemes may be fleecing Americans out of US$1 billion annually.

The lottery scam has grown so alarmingly that the nation's biggest senior advocacy group, the AARP, earlier this week sent mailers to 25 million members with advice on how to avoid it.

At a press conference yesterday in Florida, the US authorities said that state was a main target of lottery scammers because of its large senior population.

Florida Senator Bill Nelson, who chairs the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, told a joint press conference it was despicable that crooks are preying on the country’s most vulnerable seniors who sometimes have difficulty remembering important details.

Nelson and the Senate Aging panel's top Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, have scheduled a congressional hearing on March 13 to investigate the impact of the scam.




FOR MORE STORIES WATCH:


Like our new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/gleanerjamaica

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/JamaicaGleaner

radio@gleanerjm.com