HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
HILO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION SECTION
LIEUTENANT DEREK D. PACHECO
PHONE: 961-2252
OCTOBER 20, 1999
G-06613
MEDIA RELEASE
Police are warning Big Island residents about another scam, this one involving stealing unsolicited “credit checks,” forging signatures on them and cashing them for large amounts of money.
Police said thieves have rifled through trash at the post office and retrieved the checks, which are sent unsolicited and which, if signed, are used as a cash advance against a credit card.
Lieutenant Derek Pacheco, head of the Hilo Criminal Investigation Section, said that in one case, a thief cashed four checks, each for more than $3,000. In this case, the checks were sent to a resident by a company named MBNA America, which was urging the recipient to sign the checks as a cash advance to be credited against a VISA credit card.
Pacheco urged residents receiving such mail not to throw away such unsolicited mail before tearing or cutting up the checks to make sure they can’t be forged and cashed.
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