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Jerked By Jamaican Scam

By Tiffany Craig Investigative Reporter

A West Mobile woman says a scammer keeps calling. He's offering cash and a shiny new car. Jerked By Jamaican Scam

Published: Mon, August 04, 2008 - 6:25 pm Last Updated: Mon, August 04, 2008 - 9:39 pm

Tiffany Craig

For years, 88-year old Jessie Hicks has been offered sweepstakes and fake checks in the mail.

Hicks registered her number on the national Do Not Call Registry so she didn't expect the problems on the phone. However, a persistent man keeps calling her home in West Mobile.

The Jamaican man on the phone claims he will send Hicks millions and throw in a BMW! All he needs is a few hundred dollars for shipping.

Hicks says his name is C.B. Kingston and his area code is 876. Her daughter called the number back on the caller ID and the man refused to stop calling.

Hicks plans to call the phone company to get the number blocked but wants to warn others about this activity.

Tina Waller with the Better Business Bureau says this case should act as a warning. The scammers are moving from Canada to Jamaica. "I guess it got too cold in Canada so they've moved south now to scam everyone in America. They're using reputable companies to get a leg in the door like Publisher's Clearinghouse, Readers Digest. They're using reputable companies that offer sweepstakes in the U.S. to weasel in."

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, call your local police department. Then, report the problem to the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau

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southfan1981 Says:

Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 9:26 am

Airhorn. Good idea~

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rosepetal Says:

Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 9:25 am

she should call the sheriffs office. sometimes these jerks have a way of finding out things, no matter what. maybe court records. i would go after these jerks, not just have my number blocked. they will just hit somebody else.

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j2ndinline Says:

Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 6:01 am

The poor,needy and the foolish will always be with us.

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sweetnsour Says:

Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 12:11 am

Scammers are akin to a dog, if you feed them they will keep coming back. Use some common sense here. They prey on the elderly and the gullible. I had a patient the other day that told me she had to get out of the hospital by monday because she has won a sweepstakes and they had already sent her a check for the taxes, I had a little talky with her. If you won something you shouldn’t need a check. Take the taxes out and send me the change.

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Razorsharp Says:

Mon, Aug 04, 2008 at 9:05 pm

Ok…I am really getting sick of hearing about this. Listen, I don’t care if you are 15 or 50…NO ONE IS GOING TO JUST CALL YOU OUT OF THE BLUE AND GIVE YOU FREE MONEY…ok pumpkin? If someone is calling you repetedly, then don’t answer when you see the number pop up on caller I.D. If you don’t like that idea, then change your number. If you don’t like that idea, then place a call block on that persons number. If you don’t like that idea, then go to any boating supply store and purchase a small airhorn. Wait for that person to call, then calmly answer the phone, place the airhorn to the reciever, and press the blast button…problem solved. If none of these ideas appeal to you, then perhaps you deserve to be irritated.

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