Hawaiʻi Police Department
Office of the Chief
Acting Chief Paul Ferreira
Phone: 961-2244
June 8, 2011
Media Release
Big Island police are warning the public about an e-mail scam in which the sender poses as a police officer.
A Kauai woman received several e-mails as part of a Nigerian scam attempting to obtain large sums of money from her. The e-mails contained a photo of a Hawaiʻi County police officer, a Police Department logo and other information that had been cut-and-pasted from the Hawaiʻi Police Department’s website in an apparent attempt to mimic official letterhead and impersonate a police officer.
“The Hawaiʻi Police Department does not contact the public in this manner,” said Acting Police Chief Paul Ferreira. “If you receive an e-mail like this, please do not respond to it. Instead, report the incident to police immediately.”
The Kauai Police Department is continuing the investigation.