Police warn of credit card scam

Big Island police are warning the public about a debit card scam.

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, according to the Hawaii County Police Department. When the recipients call the 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, according to police.

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 institution’s number in the phone book, not the phone number you receive on the phone or over the Internet.