Marc Frankson .
Jamaica is still reeling from Hurricane Melissa’s passage. Across the island, families are clearing mud from their homes, searching for missing documents, repairing leaking roofs, and trying to restore some sense of normalcy. Phones are dead or lost, communication is unstable, and many people are physically separated from their loved ones. It is in moments like these, when stress is high and clarity is low, that another threat quietly emerges: Scams.
History shows that after major disasters, scams almost always increase. A 2025 AICPA/Harris Poll in the US found that 37 per cent of Americans experienced financial fraud following a natural disaster, and the numbers climb when fear and confusion are highest. Jamaica is no different. After a hurricane, when people are scared, displaced, and desperate for help, criminals rush in to take advantage. And today, many of these criminals are using atificial intelligence (AI) to make their tricks more believable than ever.
But while the threats are new, the
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