Local woman loses £25,000 in Jamaican lottery scam

Fri, 27 Jul 2012

The Manx Public are being warned to be on their guard after a local resident lost thousands of pounds to a lottery scam.

The victim was targeted by conmen who told her she had won a Jamaican lottery but that she needed to first pay taxes to claim her winnings.

She made regular payments over three years into a Money Gram account in Jamaica - paying out a total of £25,000.

Detective Constable Julie Jones from the Financial Crime Unit said it was hard for the police to do anything in circumstances like these:

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If you feel you may have been targeted by such a scam you’re urged to cease all contact immediately and contact the Financial Crime Unit.

You should be suspicious of any sort of unsolicited email, letter or phone call offering something for nothing.