HONOLULU (KHON2) — Law enforcement officials say there is a rise in caller ID spoofing with criminals posing as trusted sources to steal money and personal information.
Honolulu police are warning residents about a rise in phone scams using caller ID spoofing, where criminals fake phone numbers to trick victims into thinking they are legit. Scammers manipulate the caller ID to make it look like the call is coming from a legitimate source.
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“Local police department, courts, could even be like a local branch of the IRS,” said Lt. Christian Trent with HPD’s Criminal Investigation Division Cyber Crimes Unit. “Also, banks, credit unions, those are very common.”
That is what happened to Hawaii Kai resident Victoria LeChantier, who received a call from a person claiming to be from the Sheriff’s Office who said she had an arrest warrant for missing jury duty. LeChantier knew it was not legit, even though the person sounded official…