How to Avoid One of the Oldest and Most Common Scams in the Criminal Justice System

The Call That Inspired This Newsletter

Recently, I received a call from a bank in Nashville. They wanted to confirm if someone was in custody because an elderly woman in Nashville was being asked to make a large transfer to a person here in Honolulu. I walked the bank employee through the steps of verifying custody online, and just as I helped them, I want to help you learn how to verify whether someone is truly in custody.

Why This Matters to Me

This issue strikes a chord for several reasons. First, these scams give the bail bond industry a bad name by preying on the elderly. Scammers only continue these tactics because they are successful often enough to make it profitable. If nobody fell for these scams, they’d disappear, but unfortunately, they keep catching new victims.

Additionally, my company has only one negative review—an unfair one. Someone accused A-1 of cold-calling them under false pretenses and fishing for information about a person in custody. This is a well-known scam in the criminal justice world, where scammers scour the internet for names of recently arrested individuals and use public information searches to find phone numbers of the arrestee's family members. If the target is susceptible, the scam moves to phase two: requesting a bank transfer to bail the arrestee out.

The problem is that the arrestee’s custody status is often entirely fabricated. And even in cases where the arrestee is in custody, the scammers objective is to take the money intended for bail and disappear without providing any bail services.

But back to the Nashville situation—while assisting the bank employee with verifying custody status, I called the Honolulu Police Department to check if anyone had been recently arrested under the name provided. The officer I spoke with confirmed that no such arrest had occurred. As I explained the reason for my call, the officer immediately recognized the scam and told me even his own mother had almost fallen victim to the same hustle. It was eye-opening to realize that scammers could be so bold as to target a police officer’s family.

How to Verify If Someone Is in Custody on Oahu

If someone is arrested on Oahu, they will only be in one of two places:

1. Honolulu Police Department (HPD) Main Station

   • Regardless of where an arrest happens (Kapolei, Pearl City, Kalihi, etc.), the person is usually transferred to HPD Main within hours.

   • How to check: Call HPD Main at 808-723-3000. If you don’t get a clear answer right away, call again later in the day, since your loved one could be in custody, but actually in transport to the main station or maybe at the hospital to receive medical attention or prescriptions.

2. Oahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC)

   • If the person hasn't been released by the court or bailed out by the end of the day, they will be housed at OCCC for pretrial detention.

   • How to check: Call OCCC at 808-832-1652 between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. when all daily transfers are finalized. If your loved one is not there, they are not in state custody.

Online Resources for Custody Verification

Another easy way to check if someone has been recently arrested is to Google "HPD arrest log." The top search result should display the website specifically hosting the HPD arrest logs for the last few days. When I performed a demo google search for this newsletter, I actually noticed one of my old client, who I apprehended in California years ago, was back in custody for…surprise, missing court!

Above is what the google search looks like. ⬆️

Once you click “Arrest Logs,” you will find downloadable PDFs of the most recent arrests made by HPD. ⬇️

And here’s the old client, turned fugitive I mentioned below. How we found him in California was quite the story; but that was years ago, and for my personal mental health, you just got to move on after being wronged. It was an expensive lesson, but hiring a fugitive recovery agent in California, then paying extradition to get Mr. Camat back to Hawaii was the right thing to do. And of course in poetic irony, all the court did was put him on probation, when in a perfect world, he would have been further prosecuted for bail jumping.

Another tool to confirm if someone is in custody is to google “Vinelink.” Simply enter the state and name of the person you believe is in custody, then you will get a legitimate confirmation.

Lastly, there is referencing the state of Hawaii judiciary website eCourt Kokua. I made a video showing you step by step how to confirm an arrest, charges, and next court date. As an added bonus, sometimes bench warrants are uploaded first to the system, before any arrests have occurred. So if your loved one believes they have a bench warrant, a reliable way to verify a warrant, is to check the eCourt Kokua system.

Don't Get Scammed

There’s no need to transfer large sums of money to a stranger to figure out if a loved one is in custody. You can always call a bail agent or follow the simple DIY steps described earlier.

Pro Tip: Just call a bail agent and ask, we’ll do all the work for you!

Final Thoughts

Scammers thrive on panic and confusion, hoping people will act quickly without verifying information. Don't let them win. Use the tools and steps I’ve shared to protect yourself and your loved ones. If you need help, give me a call—I’m always here to do business the right way.

Stay safe, and don’t get scammed, folks.

-Got Bail Nick