HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SOUTH HILO PATROL DIVISION
LIEUTENANT CHAD FUKUI
PHONE: 961-2311
SEPTEMBER 22, 1999
MEDIA RELEASE
Police are warning Big Island residents about another telephone scam, this one involving a caller who is offering to sell $100 savings bonds for $10 apiece — in return for the would-be victim’s bank account number.
An elderly woman told police that someone called her saying he was an employee of Transcontinental Ltd. and that he had been referred to her by her bank. The caller then offered to sell the woman the bonds. He gave her a toll-free cellular telephone number to call back, but no one from “Transcontinental Ltd.” answers the phone.
The victim’s bank said no one at the financial institution authorized the sale of bonds, and the woman did not lose any money, police said.
Lieutenant Chad Fukui of the Hilo Patrol Division cautioned residents against giving anyone their bank account number over the telephone.
He also said perpetrators of such scams frequently prey on elderly persons, particularly on women. In this case, he said, they are preying on persons who don’t really know how financial institutions operate.
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