Public warned about phone call scams spoofing police department numbers

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – John Varel has been growing food on his 1,000-acre sustainable farm in Waihee for 24 years.

“It doesn’t make a lot of money yet, but it’s a classic farmer’s dream,” he said.

Varel was working in the macadamia nut fields when he received a phone call about three weeks ago. The number indicated the Maui Police Department, which was not unusual.

“This was the trick of a police officer who assisted me and other trespassers in dumping and smashing cars into mac nut fields,” Varel explained. “I was farming in our mac nut field when he called me and he told me that you had a warrant for your arrest. And I said, ‘For what?’ I ask. I said I didn’t buy anything. “He said, ‘Yes, we mailed it to you.'”

Varel said the caller gave him the address of a property he owns, so he thought it was legitimate.

“You hear the radios talking and it sounds like police talking in the background. “It seemed really authentic to me,” he said.

The caller said all Varel had to do to complete the warrant was pay $5,000, so he went to the bank and was then instructed to go to a convenience store.

“The cash machine says that once you send the money, you cannot get it back and you will receive a receipt for the bitcoins,” Varel said. “I said no, I will not put diamonds in the machine. “I’m coming to you, the police station, immediately and hanging up the phone on you.”

Varel caught it just in time.

Police say sophisticated scams like this are becoming increasingly common.

“The Maui Police Department will never contact you by phone, tell you over the phone that you have a warrant or a document that needs your attention,” said Lt. Nicholas Angell. We will never claim that you have to pay for it with Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency. If you hear this in this phone call, please hang up immediately.”

Identity fraud is not limited to Maui.

According to the department, scammers can manipulate caller ID information to make the call appear to be coming from any legitimate source, such as a government agency, financial institution or even a known individual, making it highly deceptive.

The caller tells the call takers that they have an arrest warrant, a missed jury duty, or other legal action against them, and then asks for cryptocurrency, CashApp, Venmo, etc. Requests instant payment by gift card, through online payment applications such as or other means. credit card etc.

Scammers often:

Use legitimate names of solid official and law enforcement personnel.
Call on weekends or after hours when most establishments are closed.
If the victim questions this or says they don’t have enough money or don’t know how to use the requested payment method, be forceful and negotiate or barter the payment amount or payment method.

No law enforcement or government agency officials will attempt to “clarify” warrants or other law enforcement over the phone or request your financial information over the phone to do so.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Do not give any information to the caller.
Do not contact the email/number provided; instead, contact the organization directly through that organization’s official website.
If you received a call/text from an individual claiming to be employed by a federal agency but did not answer/return the call, please report the incident to the FBI at: www.ic3.gov.
If you provided personal information or sent money/gift cards, please report the incident to the FBI and local police.

You can call the Maui Police Department at (808) 244-6400.

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