State officials warn of scam calls targeting professional licensees

News admin September 5, 2026 0 Comments

State officials warn of scam calls targeting professional licensees

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – State officials are urging people who work in regulated professions, such as healthcare or construction, to watch for scams targeting their professional licenses.

The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs says it’s getting more reports of scammers impersonating government officials and calling licensees with false claims that they need to pay money to resolve an investigation. Dental licensees in Hawaii have been recently targeted.

They’re “trying to basically create some sort of panic and pressure and then sometimes ultimately trying to get money out of the individual,” said Cindy Matsushita, DCCA licensing administrator. “They are threatening that folks could lose their license. They are also threatening that people could be locked up in jail. There’s all sorts of false claims that they’re making as far as the penalties that licenses could incur if they don’t comply with whatever these scammers are demanding.”

Matsushita said scammers are spoofing the DCCA’s phone number to appear legit, but the agency never calls licensees to ask for money or personal information or discuss disciplinary action.

“On the caller ID, it’ll show that these scammers are calling from the DCCA, and so that’s sort of lending that air of authenticity to these scam phone calls,” Matsushita said.

Red flags to watch for

The biggest red flag to look out for is if someone calls you asking or saying that you’re under investigation for something.

Another is somebody who calls and asks for your personal or financial information.

“That is not something government agencies will do,” Matushita said. And “if the caller is threatening arrest or the suspension of a license, that is not something that the DCCA will also do.”

Matsushita said only the board or commission applicable to a specific license type can administer discipline against a licensee.

“So for instance, the medical board will license doctors, physicians, only they can administer discipline on a licensee,” Matsushita said. “So it will never come from just a phone call. Or anything like that. Any sort of legitimate discipline will come in the form of letters on official letterhead from the DCCA from a particular board or commission.”