The Maui Police Department is warning the public about a new scam involving spoofed phone calls aimed at tricking recipients into making payments to avoid legal sanctions for fake offenses. 

According to the department, callers falsely claiming to be a MPD representative tell the recipient that there are legal sanctions pending because of a warrant, missed jury duty or other offense and that the person needs to make an immediate payment via cryptocurrency, online payment app (like CashApp or Venmo), credit card, gift card or other means to avoid penalty.

Spoofing is a technique used to manipulate caller ID information, making it appear as if the call is coming from a legitimate source, such as a government agency, financial institution or a known contact.

MPD reminds the public that no law enforcement or government agency will attempt to remediate warrants or other legal sanctions over the phone, nor will they ever request financial information to do so over the phone. 

MPD notes that scammers will often sound official and use legitimate names of law enforcement personnel; call on the weekends or after hours when most institutions are closed; and be forceful in bargaining or bartering on the payment amount or payment method if the victim asks questions or says they do not have enough or do not know how to use the desired payment method.

As MPD advises, if a scam call is suspected:

• Do not provide any information to the caller
• Do not contact the email/number being given. Instead, contact the organization directly via the official website of said organization
• Report the incident to the FBI at www.ic3.gov if a call or message is received from an individual claiming to be with a federal agency
• Report the incident to the FBI and the Maui Police Department at 808-244-6400 if you gave personal information or sent money/gift cards

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.