FBI Honolulu Warns of Escalating Law Enforcement Impersonation Scams
The FBI's Honolulu field office warned Hawaii residents on November 2 about an escalating scam in which criminals impersonate law enforcement officers. Honolulu is in Honolulu County, Hawaii. The scammers pose as personnel from federal agencies such as the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Secret Service to steal victims' money. The FBI said recent reports in Hawaii show the schemes becoming increasingly sophisticated, making it hard to tell whether a call or message is genuine.
The fraudsters use technology to spoof the official phone numbers of federal field offices, including FBI Honolulu's, and use real or fictitious agent names to gain trust. In one recent report, a scammer even appeared on a video-conference platform with a backdrop staged to look like a federal office, complete with a person in business attire, creating the illusion of an official investigation. The FBI stressed that real law enforcement officers will never ask members of the public by phone or video to transfer money, buy gift cards or provide bank account information in order to "assist an investigation" or "avoid arrest."
The FBI advises residents who receive a suspicious call to hang up immediately, not to call back numbers provided by the caller and not to click links sent to them; to verify, residents should look up official contact information themselves and contact the agency directly. Those who have lost money or received suspicious contacts can file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. The field office noted that government-impersonation scams are common nationwide, and urged Hawaii residents to alert elderly family members and new immigrant relatives to be wary of such phone and video schemes.
Source: FBI Honolulu Field Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：檀香山 Prince Kuhio 联邦大楼，联邦调查局檀香山分局所在地。（公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: The Prince Kuhio Federal Building in Honolulu, home to the FBI's Honolulu field office. (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
