HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SOUTH HILO PATROL DIVISION
LIEUTENANT MANUAL BEGA JR.
PHONE: 961-2311
APRIL 30, 2002
MEDIA RELEASE
Police are warning Big Island residents about a telephone “scam” used to get personal financial information from unwary victims.
Police received a report Monday (April 29, 2002) that an elderly male received a telephone call from an unidentified female who claimed she represented a major retail store.
The caller told the victim that insurance he purchased for items he bought from the store was about to expire. The caller said that if the man wanted to continue the insurance coverage, he should tell her the name of his bank and his checking account number for payment.
The victim’s daughter intercepted the call, however, and when she questioned the caller about the request for financial information, the caller hung up the phone. The daughter then called the store that the caller claimed to represent. Employees there said it wasn’t the store’s policy to ask for financial information over the phone from its customers.
Police are cautioning residents to be wary of such scams and not to give out financial information such as checking account numbers or credit card numbers over the telephone.
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