Page 5 - MidWeek - April 26, 2023

PAULETTE ITO
SVP Marketing
Hawaiian Financial Federal Credit Union
My mentor and friend was recently scammed out of $2,500.She’seducated,smart and savvy, but fraudsters were still able to scam her out of her hard-earned money. She was working on her computer when it froze on her. She tried to exit and navigate away from the screen, but the computer just wasn’t working. She called the number on the screen and informed the person on the other end of the line about her problems.
That person claimed to be from her bank and successfully solicited her help in finding the “scammers” who were making fraudulent charges to her account. They offered to set up a sting with $2,500 worth of gift cards to trap the perpetrators when they used them. Believing the person was truly from her bank, my friend agreed, bought the gift cards and delivered those
card numbers and pins to the real scammer, the person shehadbeenspeakingwith on the phone.
It was so easy. The scammer called again for more cards shortly thereafter. Luckily, she had already spoken with tennis friends, who all told her the whole thing didn’t sound right. Taking their advice, she contacted her bank who informed her it was indeed a scam, but there was nothing they could do. She then called the police, but they couldn’t help, so they referred her to the FBI, who informed her there was nothing they could do because she had willingly purchased the gift cards and given the scammer the card numbers and pins.
She reached out to me the day after the incident. I helped her recover $250 by having her check all the compromised gift cards to see if there was still a balance
Scams Paulette Ito
on any of them. We then called to transfer whatever was left to a new card. I also advised her to call the gift card companies directly to stop any online purchases madewiththecompromised cards.Itwasalongshot,but itdefinitelyendedupbeing one worth pursuing.
As I mentioned, my mentor is a smart woman who is well-aware of many common scams, but ironically it was her desire to stop fraud that motivated her to go along with the clever scheme. Many years ago,agroupofourfriends had worked with the police to catch a thief who was stealing money. My mentor’s husband used his own cash as bait and lost it twice before we eventually caught the thief. So, I can understand her willingness to jump in headfirst to help stop a scam without thoroughly thinking the situation through.
What happened to her is part of a large and growing problem for all of us. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lost more than $5.8 billion to scams and fraud in 2021, an increase of more than 70% the pervious year. The most commonly reported category was imposter scams. Then, online shopping scams, fake sweepstakes and lotteries, internet services, and bogus business opportunities
rounded out the top five fraud categories.
In Hawaii, 470 people lost more than $11.7 million in 2021 to scams, according to the FBI’s fraud report. Tech support was the most common type of scam. This is when fraudsters pose as tech support and/ or bank representatives and request that victims purchase prepaid cards, or mail large amounts of cash via overnight or express services.
Always contact your bank immediately if you thinkyou’vebeentargeted by scammers. Willingly delivering sensitive financial information to scammers may violate the terms of account agreements, thereby forfeiting your rights to unauthorized loss. The FBI and FTC websites are both loaded with useful information, including the scenarios that scammers most often use.
Helping all Hawai‘i’s ‘ohana live your best lives is core to the “Get Your House in Order” campaign. Protecting your loved ones means being vigilant against fraud and scams, and taking steps to ensure you don’t fall victim. Your handy Ho‘okele guidebook could help mitigate financial loss by enabling you to quickly double check phone numbers to make sure they’re legitimate.
Documenting the contact numbers for the Hawai‘i FBI and FTC offices for reference is also a good idea.
The Ho‘okele planning guide helps you document and organize your most important affairs and is only available from Hawaiian Financial Federal Credit Union’s website. Visit hificu.com/gyho to download your free copy.
There are four phases of the “Get Your House in Order” campaign, with a new section of the Ho‘okele guidebook available from the HIFICU.com/gyho website each quarter. Being
April 26, 2023 MIDWEEK 5 well, being safe and being
prepared for life’s challenges enables everyone to thrive. Start living your best life by downloading and filling out your Ho‘okle guidebook today!
For more information about the “Get Your House in Order” campaign, email GYHO@hificu.com. And tune in to KITV at 7 p.m. every Saturday to watch Yunji de Nies talk with local experts on how and why to get your house in order.
Scan to download