Law enforcement agencies in the Caribbean have reported an uptick in financial crimes, including
fraud schemes, in recent years. Fraud, like other crimes, is a continuously evolving phenomenon that
reacts to local, regional, and/or international developments. It thrives during bad times—pandemics,
financial crises, and natural disasters. As individuals’ resources become limited, they prey on those
who are desperate to find any source of income. Fraud occurs “when a person or business intention-
ally deceives another with promises of goods, services, or financial benefits that do not exist, were
never intended to be provided, or were misrepresented.”
Financial fraud specifically refers to deception involving financial transactions.
It is a very broad category of crime that includes a variety of scams and schemes.