Question: I live in Aiea Heights and occasionally hear gunshots and see hunting dogs around my home. Is hunting allowed in this area?

Answer: There are no public hunting areas near that immediate area, but private landowners in the vicinity could allow it as long as the hunters are properly permitted, said Deborah Ward, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Even on private land, hunters’ activities are regulated (more on that below).

If you suspect illegal activity, call the Honolulu Police Department at 911 or DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) at 643-DLNR (3567) to report it, she said. Details about vehicles (with license plate numbers), descriptions of individuals and a precise location should be provided if you have that information.

Although there is no public hunting area in Aiea Heights, there are private lands in the vicinity. Ward noted that per DLNR hunting rules in Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 13, Chapter 123:

>> Game mammals may be hunted with a valid hunting license and the landowner’s permission on private land throughout the year. For hunting on state lands not classified as public hunting areas or game management areas, special permits (from appropriate management agencies) are required.

>> Hunting is permitted from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. Hunting with artificial lights is prohibited.

>> Hunting methods (firearms, snares, pesticides, etc.) also are subject to specific land and zoning laws that are not regulated by the DLNR.

On Oahu, allowable game includes ring-necked pheasant, Japanese quail, two types of doves and feral pigs and feral goats. You can learn more at 808ne.ws/huntoahu.

IRS scam update

Kokua Line readers harassed by Internal Revenue Service impersonators will be delighted to know that arrests in India this week appear to be the tip of the iceberg as authorities crack down on a persistent scam that has cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars.

Tuesday’s midnight police raid at call centers in Mumbai resulted in charges against 70 people as of Thursday. About 600 others were questioned before being released. Police expect many more arrests, according to news reports.

Indian authorities estimated that the scam collected about $150,000 a day and had been operating for a year, according to The New York Times.

Even people who rebuffed the scammers and didn’t lose money were plagued by repeated middle-of-the-night calls and texts from the tech-savvy criminals, who claimed to be IRS agents and threatened to have the targets arrested unless they paid up immediately. The potential victims included numerous Kokua Line readers who shared their complaints with the column.

In June the U.S. Federal Trade Commission reported to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that it was concerned about large-scale fraud carried out by Indian call centers and that older Americans were disproportionately the victims.

The FTC participated in a training program in India over the summer to help that country’s law enforcement authorities develop the capacity to arrest and prosecute people in India who defraud people in the U.S., the Washington Post reported.

The newspaper also said that the bogus call centers were an outgrowth of the thriving IT industry that arose in India as many U.S. corporations outsourced back-end operations there. Some of the millions of English-speaking software professionals “have found ways to access data of U.S. customers and defraud them,” according to the story (808ne.ws/wapostry).

There are several iterations of this scam, so remember: Never give out personal information to someone claiming to be from the IRS and demanding money. Hang up the phone. Then report the scam attempt to the IRS by calling 800-366-4484, or use the online form at 808ne.ws/ contact888.

The IRS will never call and demand immediate payment or require you to use a specific payment method, such as a prepaid debit card or gift card. Neither will it ask for your credit card or bank account number over the phone.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.