Chinatown businesses in Honolulu have been victimized by scammers posing as utility workers trying to collect on supposedly delinquent bills.
KHON reports that one business was hit for $6,500 under the threat their electricity would be cut off.
Another business owner talked about how she almost fell victim.
“They said, ‘Oh, we’re the electric company. I’m in the department to charge to disconnect, cut down your service,’” Elsie Ching of Hifuni Restaurant said.
She admits panicking before deciding to call the electric company herself and being told not to pay.
The Chinatown Business and Community Association has been handing out flyers trying to warn potential victims.
“Maybe we can minimize the number of victims,” Association president Chu Lan Shubert-Kwock said.
You can find out how the scam works and avoid being a victim on KHON.
