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A woman in a Texas suburb is enjoying her retirement years with her husband when she gets a call that will change their lives. According to the voice on the phone,\\xa0she\\u2019s won an overseas lottery. Millions of dollars and a new luxury car will be delivered to her front door. But before she can collect\\xa0the\\xa0cash and\\xa0other\\xa0prizes,\\xa0she\\xa0must\\xa0send\\xa0money to\\xa0the man on the phone. At first,\\xa0she\\u2019s told she needs to pay taxes, then lawyers\\u2019 fees. As the\\xa0demands\\xa0to send cash mount, her bank account\\xa0is drained. Nine months later,\\xa0the couple has lost everything and is forced to sell their home.

Lottery scams are on the rise in the U.S.,\\xa0with\\xa0more than a\\xa0half-million complaints in North America in the\\xa0past three years. The island nation of Jamaica\\xa0is\\xa0a hotbed for this criminal activity. These scams have cost\\xa0Americans\\xa0millions\\xa0of dollars\\xa0and\\xa0led\\xa0to increased gang warfare in Jamaica that has upped\\xa0the\\xa0murder rate\\xa0there. To combat this growing issue,\\xa0the U.S.\\xa0Department of Homeland Security and the\\xa0Jamaica\\xa0Constabulary Force, along with other\\xa0U.S.\\xa0agencies,\\xa0are dedicating\\xa0resources\\xa0to shut down lottery scams. One\\xa0postal\\xa0inspector came across a scammer\\u2019s financial trail that led back to the\\xa0Texas\\xa0couple who\\u2019d been drawn in by a lottery scam. When the inspector arrived in Texas,\\xa0he couldn\\u2019t believe what he found: Not only had the scammer drained the couple\\u2019s\\xa0savings, but he was now operating a romance scam\\xa0\\u2014\\xa0with the\\xa0woman as his target.