Hawaiian Electric to customers: Don’t get scammed! Vigilance needed to guard against criminals after easy money

Hawaiian Electric to customers: Don’t get scammed!
Vigilance needed to guard against criminals after easy money
HONOLULU, Nov. 20, 2024 – During the holiday hustle and bustle, scammers often target
unsuspecting utility customers. Today, on national Utility Scam Awareness Day, Hawaiian
Electric warns customers to guard against criminals taking aim at their hard-earned money.
“Scammers target utility customers because we all depend on essential services such as
electricity, water and telecommunications – especially during this busy time of year,” said
Brendan Bailey, Hawaiian Electric vice president of customer service. “Customers should
always stay alert and vigilant. Don’t let a scammer’s threat of disconnection ruin your holidays.”
While the scams come in many forms, the “late payment” scam is most prevalent: Scammers
threaten disconnection unless payment is made immediately – by prepaid debit cards, gift
cards, Bitcoin or other unacceptable payment option.
But scammers are getting creative. Over the summer, Hawaiian Electric received seven scam
reports from customers describing a different tactic – the scammer claimed to be from Hawaiian
Electric, provided a “work order” number and instructed the customer to contact a “field
technician” using an 800 number. The scammers demanded payment for the necessary repair
or power would be disconnected.
While not all the targets were businesses, a recent common thread appeared to be real estate
related ads or listings. Among the targets was HI Five Realty LLC.
“They were saying that unless we call back and pay for repairs, they were going to terminate our
service,” said Richard Nakatsu, a property manager with HI Five Realty who received the call
June 17. “They’re spoofing the Hawaiian Electric number.”
Nakatsu contacted Hawaiian Electric customer service, and after answering a series of
questions, it appeared the scammers likely were targeting realtors. “They have their name, face
and number all over the internet” and that attracts both legitimate clients and crooks, he said.
“They’re relentless. With AI things are going to get worse,” said Nakatsu, who did not send
money to the scammers. But a residential customer who received the same type of call paid the
scammers $1,498 through Zelle, a money transfer service offered through banking apps.
To review acceptable payment options, go to hawaiianelectric.com/paymentoptions. To file a
fraud report, visit hawaiianelectric.com/reportfraud.
See next page for what Hawaiian Electric does and does not do when contacting customers.