The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning Hawaii residents about a telephone scam.
The scam begins when someone, posing as a deputy, contacts the victim via telephone. The “deputy” provides his name and a badge number in hope of legitimizing the call and advises the victim that they are delinquent from federal jury duty and will be arrested immediately, according to the FBI field office in Honolulu.
In order to avoid arrest, the “deputy” advises the victim that they can pay a fine. They are instructed to go to a Longs Drug Store and obtain a $500 “green dot” money order. The victim is also provided with a local telephone number to call. Once the victim has obtained the money order, they are instructed to call the number and provide the numbers located on the back of the money order.
The people promoting the scam will provide names of federal judges, courtroom numbers, addresses, and other information in an attempt to make the scam believable.
The FBI said this is not the protocol of the Federal Court system. The public should not provide personal identifying information over the phone. The public should also verify the veracity of the call before providing any form of payment.
Anyone receiving a phone call like described above is asked to call the FBI’s Honolulu field office at 566-4300.