The Maui News

At least eight reports of a phishing scam linked to a Hilo phone number were received last week by Hawaii Better Business Bureau.

Call recipients were asked to press “1” to lower their credit rates, and if the resident refused, the scammers threatened that his or her credit rates would increase, according to a bureau announcement. After pressing “1,” residents were transferred to a call center and asked to supply Social Security number and banking information.

The scammers requested no payments, but the personal information could be used for future frauds or identity thefts, the bureau said. Phone numbers reported with the scam included (808) 889-0500, (808) 427-5152 and (808) 427-5149.

“These calls are appearing on caller ID as a local number,” states Gregory Dunn, president and chief executive officer of Hawaii’s bureau. “Consumers in Hawaii are much more likely to answer the call even if they don’t necessarily recognize the number.”

The bureau offers tips for consumers to protect themselves from phishing scams:

• Never answer or return calls to unrecognized numbers.

• Never give out personal identifying information over the phone when you’re not sure of the caller.

• Contact your bank and credit card companies immediately if you think you’ve been caught in a scam and monitor unauthorized charges on your accounts to recover lost money.

Any scam should be reported using the BBB Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker/hawaii.