As the holiday season continues, residents are once again advised to be cautious about scams.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced Monday, the first day of International Charity Fraud Awareness Week, that because of the Lahaina wildfire in September, it is imperative that people are sure fundraisers invoking the disaster are actually benefiting the victims and their recovery and not merely enriching a scammer.
“Ensuring that charitable donations go directly to reputable and legitimate charities is a critical government concern as our state has seen a wave of donations and increased fundraising efforts to help victims and assist in the recovery relief effort on Maui,” Lopez said in a statement. “We have received reports and complaints of organizations and fundraisers soliciting donations for Maui fire victims.
“I urge everyone to be vigilant and utilize publicly available resources to help people avoid suspicious fundraisers and scammers pretending to be charities.”
Lopez urged residents to verify the legitimacy of a charity by checking their status through the following websites:
— Hawaii Attorney General: charity.ehawaii.gov
— IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search: apps.irs.gov/app/eos
— Charity Navigator: charitynavigator.org
— DCCA Business Search: hbe.ehawaii.gov/documents
People also can report a suspicious charity or fundraiser by calling the state Tax and Charities Division at (808) 586-1480.
Meanwhile, Hawaiian Electric warned residents earlier this month about recurring scams targeting customers by threatening to have their electric service cut off unless they made a payment.
Those scams mimicked Hawaiian Electric’s customer service caller ID and asked victims to make payments via cryptocurrency — in one case, guiding the victim through step-by-step instructions to deposit cash into a Bitcoin machine.
Hawaiian Electric said in a press release it will never accept payment via cryptocurrency, prepaid debit cards, gift cards or money transfers.
Customers also are advised that Hawaiian Electric customer service will not ask to meet a customer in person to pick up a payment, and that Hawaiian Electric employees will wear official labeled attire, drive a properly labeled vehicle, and carry company ID.