MEDIA RELEASE
Hawaiʻi Island police are warning the public about a telephone scam involving persons impersonating utility workers.
In this scam, the perpetrators call the victims and inform them that their utility bill is delinquent and that their service will be shut off. They then instruct the victims to make payment directly to the scammers by telephone.
Police advise members of the public who receive a call about their utility bill to hang up and then call the utility company directly at a published phone number (not a number they receive from the caller) to find out if the call is legitimate.
Citizens should never give out any personal information over the telephone to persons who call them and ask for it.
I have a different company but I got a similar call, too. This lady told me I missed paying my bill last month and it’s long overdue. Said my service will be disconnected unless I make a payment immediately. But I knew it was a bluff because I just spoke with the electric company rep earlier that day and there was no mention of an overdue bill. i told the caller I knew what he was up to and hung up. I also reported the phone number to CALLERCENTER to raise a warning. I thought it’s important that everybody is aware that such a scam is happening.