Hawaii Scam Report: What's Targeting HI and How to Fight Back
Hawaii residents filed 3,328 scam and cybercrime complaints with the FBI in 2025 and reported $106.4 million in losses — the 32nd-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Here's what those numbers look like up close, which scams are actually hitting Hawaii, and exactly where to report one.
Reviewed by the Cautellus team · Last updated July 2026
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report. These are reported figures — the FBI estimates most victims never file, so real losses run far higher.
How Hawaii Compares
Nationally, Americans filed 1,008,597 complaints and reported $20.877 billion in losses in 2025 — up 26% from the year before, with an average loss of $20,699 per complaint.
Hawaii ranks 41st in raw complaint volume and 32nd in total losses. Adjusted for population, it ranks 32nd in complaints and 5th in losses per 100,000 residents. That per-capita rank is significantly worse than the raw numbers suggest — Hawaii residents are being hit disproportionately hard for the state's size.
Scams Targeting Hawaii Seniors
Hawaii residents aged 60 and over filed 917 complaints and reported $55.4 million in losses in 2025 — roughly 52% of everything lost in the state. Nationally, the 60+ age group lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age bracket, led by investment fraud, tech-support scams, and romance scams.
If a parent or grandparent in Hawaii gets a suspicious call, text, or pop-up, have them scan it first — before anyone moves money.
Cryptocurrency Fraud in Hawaii
826 Hawaii complaints referenced cryptocurrency in 2025, with $79.8 million in associated losses — about 75% of the state's reported total. Most of it is investment fraud: “pig butchering” schemes that start with a friendly message on social media, a dating app, or a wrong-number text, and end at a fake trading platform that won't let you withdraw. Crypto ATM payment demands — for “bail,” “back taxes,” or “securing your account” — are the other major pattern. No legitimate business or government agency takes payment through a crypto ATM.
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Scan Now — It's FreeScam Patterns Hitting Hawaii
Vacation rental scams
Fake listings for Hawaii condos and beach houses collect deposits from mainland visitors for properties the scammer doesn't own. Hawaii's per-capita fraud losses ranked 5th in the nation in 2025 — $7.4 million per 100,000 residents.
Military romance impersonation
Pearl Harbor and Hawaii's large military presence supply scammers with stolen service-member photos for romance cons — targeting both Hawaii residents and victims worldwide using “deployed in Hawaii” personas.
Shipping and marketplace fraud
Island logistics make “the seller will ship it” normal, which scammers exploit for vehicles and furniture that never arrive. Crypto-linked losses in Hawaii hit $79.8 million in 2025 — large for a state of 1.4 million.
How to Report a Scam in Hawaii
- 1If money moved, call your bank first. Ask for the fraud department and request a recall or reversal. Minutes matter more than anything else on this list.
- 2File with the FBI at ic3.gov. Fast reports give the FBI's Recovery Asset Team a chance to freeze wire transfers — and your complaint becomes part of the same dataset this page is built on.
- 3Report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. FTC reports feed the Consumer Sentinel network used by law enforcement nationwide.
- 4File with the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection (DCCA). State consumer-protection offices mediate complaints, issue local warnings, and bring enforcement actions against scammers operating in Hawaii.
- 5Warn the next person. Share what happened on Cautellus so the phone number, website, or username gets flagged for everyone else who searches it.
FAQs
How much money did Hawaii residents lose to scams in 2025?
Hawaii residents reported $106.4 million in losses across 3,328 complaints filed with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 — the 32nd-highest total among the 50 states and DC. Actual losses are higher, since most scams are never reported.
How do I report a scam in Hawaii?
File with the FBI at ic3.gov (especially if you lost money — fast reporting helps the FBI's Recovery Asset Team attempt to freeze transfers), report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and file a complaint with the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection (DCCA). If money left your bank account, call your bank's fraud department immediately.
Are older Hawaii residents targeted more?
Hawaii residents aged 60 and over filed 917 complaints and reported $55.4 million in losses in 2025 — about 52% of the state's reported losses. Nationally, people 60+ lost $7.748 billion, more than any other age group.
Other States in the West
Before You Pay, Click, or Reply
Every scam pattern on this page shares one weakness: it falls apart under a second opinion. If a text, email, link, or phone number feels off, run it through the Cautellus scanner before you act — it checks against 10,000+ confirmed scam entities aggregated from Reddit, FBI IC3, FTC, and global phishing databases, refreshed every 6 hours.
Think you've received a scam?
Paste a suspicious message, email, or URL into our free AI scanner for instant analysis.
Scan Now — It's FreeSources: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Annual Report — state complaint, loss, per-capita, 60+, and cryptocurrency tables.