The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) is issuing a renewed warning to medical professionals across Hawaii regarding a recent surge in scam phone calls targeting professional licenses. Scammers are impersonating state officials and government agency representatives in an attempt to extract sensitive personal information under the guise of a purported investigation.
The DCCA reports a spike in incidents this week mirroring a similar scam observed in November of last year. These scams primarily target current and former dental licensees, though other medical professionals, including nurses and pharmacists, may also be vulnerable. Scammers are making false claims of ongoing investigations into professional licenses, demanding personal information and, in some cases, employing Caller ID spoofing to make the calls appear legitimate.
The DCCA emphasizes the importance of understanding the proper channels for license investigations. While 52 licensing boards, commissions, and programs affiliated with the DCCA’s Professional and Vocational Licensing (PVL) division have the authority to discipline licensees, they do not conduct the investigations themselves. That responsibility falls to the Regulated Industries Complaints Office (RICO) within the DCCA.
Crucially, RICO communicates officially via letterhead and includes contact information for their offices. RICO does not request sensitive personal information over the phone, solicit wire transfers, or take direct action against a licensee. It is the boards, commissions, and programs that ultimately hold disciplinary power.
The DCCA advises extreme caution when receiving unsolicited calls from individuals identifying themselves as state officials. Legitimate officials will never solicit money or threaten arrest over the phone. If you receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately and refrain from providing any personal information.
To verify the legitimacy of a caller claiming to be from the DCCA, contact the agency directly using a verified phone number found at https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/contact/ rather than relying on caller ID.
Anyone who has received a similar call or seeks to verify contact from the DCCA is urged to call their respective licensing board/program or PVL at 808-586-3000. A list of programs and contact information is available at https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/.
For more information specifically related to recent scams targeting dental licensees, please refer to the notice from the Hawaii Dental Association. The DCCA encourages vigilance and proactive steps to protect against these increasingly common and sophisticated scams.
