Maui Police Warn of Scams Urging Victims to Purchase Gift Cards for Payment

The Maui Police Department is warning the public of scams that urge victims to purchase gift cards as payment to businesses or government entities.

“A legitimate organization will never ask for you to pay for a service/penalty fee via gift card,” Maui police said in a press release advisory.

As part of the scam, victims are contacted via email, phone, or text.

Some of the latest ongoing scams reported include:

• Apparent Amazon Customer Service emails stating, “if you did not make this purchase to contact Amazon Fraud Protection Team at….”
• IRS notifications stating your social security number is on hold or that there are issues with your taxes.
• Claims that you can receive the COVID vaccination.

The Maui Police Department offers the following tips to keep in mind:

• Look at the sender’s email address; any legitimate business will have their company’s name, not yahoo.com, gmail.com, etc.
• Do not contact the number listed/being given.
• Contact the business directly via their official website.