MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaiʻi Island police are warning the public about a telephone utility scam.

A Hilo woman received a phone call from someone posing as a representative of Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company. The caller claimed the recipient’s electric bill was overdue and threatened to shut off her electricity unless she paid the bill.

Police caution the public not to respond to requests for information or payment that comes by telephone or through the internet. If you think a notification from a utility company might be legitimate, confirm it by calling the published phone number in the phone book not any phone number you receive over the phone or internet.