The Hawaiʻi State Judiciary is warning the public about a recent scam involving a man posing as a state sheriff while demanding money to take care of a bench warrant associated with failure to appear for jury duty.

The imposter told the victim that if she didn’t pay, she might be subject to jail or a large fine. He also told her that after she sent him money by electronic funds transfer, she needed to appear in front of a judge at a remote court hearing. If she appeared, the judge would make sure she got her money back. When she didn’t receive the Zoom link for the court hearing, she called the man back and the phone was no longer in service. 

The Judiciary is informing the public that it never has court staff or law enforcement call or email individuals telling them they have an outstanding bench warrant or summons for not showing up for jury duty. Generally all communication is handled through the U.S. mail, unless you called or emailed us to respond to a specific question. 

Anyone who receives a suspicious phone call is advised to hang up without responding to any questions or pressing any numbers they may be asked to press. In addition, if an individual encounters an email from the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary that they did not initiate, they should not reply and delete immediately.