Jamaica declares lottery scamming a national security threat

Jamaica’s National Security Council (NSC) has officially declared lottery scamming, or advance fee fraud, a national security threat. The council has directed the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) to launch an aggressive crackdown on perpetrators to protect the country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Global Services Sector.

The Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ) reported that scamming has cost the sector over $6 billion, while the government loses approximately $900 million in annual revenue. The criminal activity has also led to the dismissal of nearly 2,000 BPO employees and the loss of several thousand jobs across the country.

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness, acting as Chairman of the NSC, emphasized that these cybercrimes threaten Jamaica’s second-largest foreign exchange earner. To combat the issue, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) will implement a regulated architecture to improve supervision and information exchange regarding fraudulent activities within the sector.