New Scam With Mocko Jumbie And Supreme Court Logo Offering Money From VI Government Hits Territory

ST. CROIX — A new scam offering money from the Government of the Virgin Islands (GVI) has made its way to the territory, Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA) announced via press release thing morning.

According to DLCA, the scammers are utilizing emailed documents with authentic-looking letterheads with logos of GVI agencies to make the emailed notifications appear legitimate.  Among the GVI letterheads are the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism and the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands.

The first emailed correspondence, captioned “US Virgin Islands Money”, utilizes the Supreme Court’s logo, and informs the reader of an enclosed Probate Court final notice and a date regarding the last day to claim a sum of money quoted to be in the millions of dollars.  The letter further implores the reader to send $1000 to obtain a tax waiver for the immediate release of the probate money.

The second example consists of a letter utilizing a picture of a mocko jumbie and a font closely resembling the logo of the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.  It informs the reader of an offshore/online bank account where the probate money is purportedly being held or can be sent to.

It requires of the recipient an activation fee by credit card with a minimum deposit to activate the account to which the probate money will be wired and can be retrieved by the reader.  The correspondence even provides a fictitious Virgin Islands contact number and a Virgin Islands mailing address to further simulate authenticity.

Both pieces of correspondence are scams.

The latest scam follows an April attempt where local businesses were being asked to make a deposit of $1,000 to a foreign account or face power disconnection, and in March when residents were receiving fake money orders to buy grocery.

DLCA is asking residents to disregard and take no action on said emails.

Feature Image: Mocko  Jumbies on the Christiansted boardwalk. 

Image  Credit: Caribbean Travel and More on Pinterest.