Crime Round-up: Thieves swindle money from elderly victim in malware scam

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Three recent crimes are highlighted in this week’s Crime Round-up with HPD Sgt. Chris Kim.
Police are seeking suspects in an assault of an employee at the Ewa Beach Safeway on Keaunui Drive. Video from the incident showed a female and two male suspects entering the store and attacking the employee just before 10:40 p.m. on Sept. 15.
They fled in an unknown direction.
A burglary was reported at the St. Theresa’s Church off North School Street. On Sept. 8 around 10:20 p.m., police said a male suspect took items from the property before fleeing on a bicycle.
The third case involved an elaborate scam in which an elderly victim received a pop-up on his computer on Aug. 29. It appeared to be from Microsoft claiming the computer was infected with malware. Police said the victim called the phone number and a female told him to take out cash and put it in a cardboard box.
The woman then claimed a courier would pick up the money and provide a passcode. Later in the day, the female suspect arrived on foot at the victim’s home on Kakiwa Place, provided the passcode and took the cash-filled box.
The next day, the same process unfolded and a male suspect arrived and took the cash. Both suspects were caught on nearby surveillance video.
CrimeStoppers says that the elderly are prime targets for these types of scams as it is often difficult for them to decipher such warnings on digital platforms.
“Please reach out to your kupuna, warn them that these types of things are happening,” Sgt. Kim said.
Anyone with information in any of the cases is urged to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, or submit tips anonymously online here, or via the P3 Tips mobile app.
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