News and Information

Beware of Scams Disguised as Annual Renewal Notices

Just when you thought the season for scams was over, the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Business Registration Division (BREG) reminds the public to beware of unofficial annual report “alerts” that have been emailed to local Hawaii businesses and the public by third parties not endorsed by BREG. Do not confuse them with bonafide renewal reminders from BREG. See a previously issued DCCA press release on the subject here.
ES&A Director Sam Sneed offers these safety tips as well:

• If you are not the usual recipient of such an email, be wary. 
• Check the sender’s email address and any links in the questionable solicitation; if they don’t use “.gov,” they’re not legitimate (do NOT click on any links – just hover over them to view the URL)
• Do NOT open any attachments from senders you have not verified 
• Remember, it can be harder to see a sender address when viewing on your phone, so make a habit of handling such emails on a computer.
• Sender addresses can be spoofed – if something looks “off,” call a phone number you know to be good, just to be sure