Vida G. Bottom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Honolulu Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is warning Hawaii residents to be aware of a new telephone scam.
This scam begins when someone, posing as a “Deputy”, contacts the victim via telephone, providing his name and a badge number.
The victims are advised they are delinquent from Federal Jury Duty and will be arrested immediately.
In order to avoid arrest, the “Deputy” advises the victim that they can pay a fine. They are instructed to go to 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 more, in an attempt to make the scam believable.
The public is reminded that this is not protocol of the Federal Court System. This is a scam. The public should not provide personal identifying information over the phone and need to verify the veracity of the call before providing any form of payment.
If anyone should receive a call as described above please contact the Honolulu FBI at 808-566-4300.