A phone scam involving false claims of jury duty bench warrants continues to target Hawaii residents, prompting a fresh warning from the AARP Hawaii.

What You Need To Know

  • AARP Hawaii shared the recent case of a Manoa resident Jody Mishan, who received a call from someone claiming to be a lieutenant in the Honolulu Police Department. The person claimed the victim had a warrant for her arrest for failing to show up for jury duty

  • The Hawaii State Judiciary previously issued a warning about scammers posing as police officers, sheriffs and Judiciary employees and threatening arrest if the victims do not provide payment

  • The public is reminded that neither Judiciary staff nor law enforcement will call or email anyone regarding outstanding bench warrants related to jury duty, except in response to a call or email initiated by the person

In a release issued on Friday, the organization cited the recent case of a Manoa resident Jody Mishan, who received a call from someone claiming to be a lieutenant in the Honolulu Police Department. The person claimed the victim had a warrant for her arrest for failing to show up for jury duty.

Unfortunately for the scammer, Mishan had the wherewithal to use her computer to check the supposed lieutenant’s name, and the name of a “captain” the scammer provided against the online HPD staff directory. She also searched for and found information on “jury duty bench warrant scam in Hawaii.”

Confronted with what the Mishan found, the would-be scammer hung up.

“Scammers are very smart and they want to scare people so they are thinking with emotion, rather than logic,” said AARP Hawaii state director Kealii Lopez. “Anyone can be a victim. Jody did exactly the right thing by searching for information independently of what the scammers were feeding her. But not everyone is by a computer when scammers call and fear of being arrested can easily lead you to keep talking rather than hanging up on someone.” 

The Hawaii State Judiciary previously issued a warning about scammers posing as police officers, sheriffs and Judiciary employees and threatening arrest if the victims do not provide payment.

The public is reminded that neither Judiciary staff nor law enforcement will call or email anyone regarding outstanding bench warrants related to jury duty, except in response to a call or email initiated by the person. In general, all communication regarding jury duty is transacted via U.S. mail.

For more information on this and other scams, visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatch. Those who have been scammed, or know someone who has been scammed, can call the AARP Fraud Watch Network hotline at 877-908-3360.