How do you know that you are the target of a scam? Here are some red flags that you should be aware of:

♦ There is an air of urgency in the message. The scammer will claim that your reply and/or transaction must happen ASAP.
♦ They are adamant that you must send them your banking or identity details to get payment.
♦ They may instruct you to only use their escrow person for payment.
♦ They insist you must take a check and no other payment method will work.
♦ They offer to let you pay in gift cards.
♦ They want to send you a check for more than what is owed and have you remit the excess to someone else.
♦ They want you to send them money to enable them to send you even more money.
♦ You can’t find their company name, telephone number and/or email address on the internet.
♦ Their message contains very poor grammar and/or misspellings.

A very good rule of thumb is always be skeptical. Before returning calls or replying to emails, verify the telephone number, email address and/or URL to ensure they are legitimate. Go online and see if there are any complaints or reports that their telephone number has been linked to scams. Spending a few moments before responding may prevent some serious heartbreaks in the future.


THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
1060 Richards St., Honolulu, HI 96813
808-768-7400 | Office hrs: Mon – Fri, 7:45 am – 4:30 pm
www.honoluluprosecutor.org/contact-us/