Hawaiʻi Police Department
Criminal Investigations Section, Area II
Lieutenant Gerald Wike
Phone: 326-4646, Ext. 266
Media Release
Hawaiʻi Island police are warning the public about a debit card scam.
Island residents have reported receiving a text message from someone claiming that the recipient’s debit card has been temporarily deactivated and asking them to call a phone number to reactivate the card. When the recipients call that number, they are asked for the card number, expiration date, security code and personal identification number.
This is a scam by someone trying to fraudulently obtain personal information for illicit purposes.
Police advise the public that if they receive such a message to delete it and not to call the phone number provided. Legitimate financial institutions do not ask for that kind of personal information over the phone or internet.
If you think a notification from your financial institution might be legitimate, call the published phone number in the phone book not any phone number you receive on the phone or over the internet.