HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SOUTH HILO PATROL DIVISION
CAPTAIN FRANCIS H. RODILLAS
PHONE: 961-2214
SEPTEMBER 16, 1999
MEDIA RELEASE
Police are warning Big Island residents about another scam, this one over the telephone offering would-be victims $18,000 in return for several thousand dollars.
An elderly Big Island resident reported sending a caller from Canada a total of $1,635 in four payments in order to receive the prize, but the money never arrived.
Captain Francis Rodillas, head of the South Hilo Patrol Division, advised residents who receive similar offers of prize money to report it to the police at 935-3311.
“Legitimate lotteries do not request that the so-called ‘winner’ send money in order to receive a prize,” Rodillas said.
Rodillas said that perpetrators of such scams frequently prey on elderly persons, particularly on women. And he urged residents who may have elderly family members to talk to them and warn them about scams perpetrated over the telephone or through the mail.
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