The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is warning the public about recent scam calls involving individuals posing as HPD personnel.

Scammers are impersonating law enforcement officers and requesting payments, often through third-party apps such as Venmo and Zelle. HPD has received reports specifically of these scammers demanding payment for an “ankle monitoring program” that is required for the release of a family member who has been arrested or is incarcerated.

HPD does not use third-party payment apps such as Venmo or Zelle to process financial transactions and will never request payment or personal financial information over the phone. HPD also does not operate an “ankle monitoring program” that requires individuals to make payments.

HPD encourages the public to take the following precautions:

• Hang up on suspicious callers who claim to be HPD personnel, especially if they request financial or private information.
• Delete suspicious text messages or emails claiming to be from HPD. Do not open links, attachments or reply to the message.
• Don’t rely on caller ID. Scammers use technology to “spoof” official department phone numbers.

If you have already given out personal information or lost money to one of these scams, please file a report immediately with the Honolulu Police Department at 808-529-3111 or online at https://www.frontlinepss.com/honolulupolice.