Hawaiʻi Police Department
Hilo Patrol
Lieutenant Todd Pataray
Phone: (808) 961-2213
Hawaiʻi Island police are warning the public about a cryptocurrency scam that thieves are using to commit financial crimes.
Police report that individuals have received text messages from persons claiming to be from their financial institution stating that their bank account has been compromised. The text message urges the bank customer to transfer their account balance into cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, until the fraudulent transactions can be resolved.
Customers are then directed to a bitcoin ATM and instructed to deposit their money, obtain a receipt, and to send a picture of the transaction to the person claiming to represent the bank. The information on the receipt contains account information that scammers can use to electronically steal money from the person’s bank account.
Hawai‘i Police Department reminds the public that:
The public is advised that if they receive such a text message, they should report it to their financial institution and contact the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.00. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers does not record calls or subscribe to any Caller ID service. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
The Crime Stoppers TV Program is available on-demand from Nā Leo TV.
