Hawaii Scam and Fraud Laws: Where to Report, Your Right to Sue (2026)

Hawaii's consumer protection law gives a scam victim who qualifies as a "consumer" a strong right to sue. Under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) section 480-13, a consumer injured by an unfair or deceptive practice who wins in court must be awarded at least $1,000 or three times their damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. A "consumer" is a natural person who, mainly for personal, family or household purposes, buys, tries to buy or is solicited to buy goods or services, or commits money to a personal investment. The deadline to sue is four years.

Hawaii has also banned cash-to-crypto kiosks: since October 1, 2026, Act 224 makes it unlawful to own, operate or manage a kiosk in the state that takes U.S. currency in exchange for a digital asset. Scam complaints go to the state Office of Consumer Protection (OCP), which investigates and enforces the law for the public but says plainly that it is not your private attorney.

Information last verified on October 2, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This guide covers Hawaii state law: the unfair and deceptive practices law in HRS chapter 480, Hawaii complaint offices, Hawaii protections for older adults, Hawaii's crypto kiosk ban and other scam-related statutes, and Hawaii court deadlines for suing. Federal refund and reporting rights are summarized briefly and covered in depth on our national guides. Out of scope: criminal defense, and the law of other states (if the scammer or business is elsewhere, that state's law may also matter).

First steps if you were scammed in Hawaii

Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, wire company or crypto exchange that moved your money right away, because that company is usually the one that can stop or reverse a payment. Your federal rights depend on how you paid; our guide on how to get money back after a scam walks through each payment method, and the Zelle and payment app guide covers app transfers.

Then report the scam. Most scams go to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and online crime to the FBI's IC3; our where to report a scam guide lists every federal channel. The Hawaii offices below are in addition to those, not instead of them.

Where to report a scam in Hawaii

OCP is the state's consumer protection agency within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. You can also reach the department's Consumer Resource Center at 1-844-808-DCCA (3222), or mail a complaint to the Office of Consumer Protection, 235 S. Beretania St., Suite 801, Honolulu, HI 96813. The portal lists office hours of 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (HST), Monday through Friday. Filing costs nothing: "As a state agency, OCP does not charge a fee for its services."

If you only want to tell OCP about a problem without opening a formal case, the portal has a "Share A Concern" option that "provides you a platform to report a situation or problem without initiating a formal complaint."

Be realistic about what a complaint does. OCP's FAQ says it "initiates legal actions on behalf of consumers generally, but does not represent individual complainants as their private counsel. OCP does not have criminal prosecutorial powers." The complaint portal adds that "OCP is not your private attorney, but represents the public in enforcing laws designed to protect consumers from misleading and unlawful practices." A complaint helps OCP spot and act against a scheme; getting your own money back runs through your payment company, a lawsuit, or both.

Language help. The Department of Human Services adult services page offers a free interpreter at 1-888-764-7586, with the notice printed in many languages, including Spanish, Ilocano, Chinese and Hawaiian. OCP's complaint portal and FAQ do not mention language assistance. For fraud against anyone 60 or older, the federal DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) offers English, Spanish and other languages; see where to report a scam.

Hawaii's consumer protection law: can you sue?

Yes, if you are a "consumer" under the law and you can identify the person or business responsible. HRS section 480-2(a) is broad: "Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce are unlawful." But section 480-2(d) limits who may sue over deceptive practices:

"No person other than a consumer, the attorney general or the director of the office of consumer protection may bring an action based upon unfair or deceptive acts or practices declared unlawful by this section."

Section 480-1 defines the term:

"'Consumer' means a natural person who, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, purchases, attempts to purchase, or is solicited to purchase goods or services or who commits money, property, or services in a personal investment."

The definition covers someone who was only "solicited to purchase," and someone who put money into a personal investment. Someone acting primarily for business purposes is not a consumer under it. You also do not have to show that your case serves the public interest; section 480-2(c) says no such showing "is necessary."

There is an open question for many scam victims. If you did not buy or try to buy anything and simply sent money to an impostor, it is not settled, in any source we could verify, whether you count as a consumer and whether the impostor acted "in the conduct of any trade or commerce." A Hawaii lawyer can tell you whether your facts fit.

What you can recover

Section 480-13(b)(1) sets the remedy for a consumer:

"Any consumer who is injured by any unfair or deceptive act or practice forbidden or declared unlawful by section 480-2: (1) May sue for damages sustained by the consumer, and, if the judgment is for the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall be awarded a sum not less than $1,000 or threefold damages by the plaintiff sustained, whichever sum is the greater, and reasonable attorney's fees together with the costs of suit"

Three things follow from those words. The award is the greater of $1,000 or three times your damages, and the text does not require proof that the defendant acted knowingly or willfully to get it. Attorney's fees and costs are mandatory for a consumer who wins ("shall be awarded"). And under section 480-13(c)(1), the $1,000 minimum does not apply in a class action. A consumer can also ask the court to stop the practice (section 480-13(b)(2)).

Extra protection if you are 62 or older

The same subsection gives older plaintiffs a larger alternative: "where the plaintiff is an elder, the plaintiff, in the alternative, may be awarded a sum not less than $5,000 or threefold any damages sustained by the plaintiff, whichever sum is the greater, and reasonable attorney's fees together with the costs of suit." An "elder" here is a consumer 62 or older. The $5,000 figure is not automatic: the statute says the court "shall consider the factors set forth in section 480-13.5" in deciding whether to use it.

Section 480-13.5 also lets a court, "in addition to any other civil penalty," impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation directed toward, targeting or injuring an elder. The statute does not say who receives that penalty and does not give the victim a claim to it, so do not count it as money you will collect. Separately, section 480-3.1 sets a civil penalty of $500 to $10,000 per violation that the attorney general or OCP director collects "on behalf of the State." That is enforcement money, not victim compensation.

No demand letter, four-year deadline

The text of sections 480-2 and 480-13 has no pre-suit notice or demand-letter requirement. The clock is in section 480-24: an action "shall be barred unless commenced within four years after the cause of action accrues." For a continuing violation, the claim "is deemed to accrue at any time during the period of the violation."

The honest limit

A lawsuit needs a defendant you can identify, serve and collect from. That often works against a Hawaii business, a contractor or a seller with a real address. It usually does not work against an anonymous scammer who called from a spoofed number or disappeared with crypto, and a judgment does not help if nobody can be found to pay it. Our guide on when a lawyer helps after a scam covers how to tell the difference.

Protections for older adults in Hawaii

Theft from an older person can be a felony. HRS section 708-830.5 makes it first-degree theft, a class B felony, to steal property "from the person of another who is sixty years of age or older," or property or services worth more than $750 from a person 60 or older, where "the age of the property owner is known or reasonably should be known to the person who commits theft." The statute does not require that the thief held a position of trust, so it can reach a stranger who targets an older person. For comparison, the general first-degree threshold is property or services worth more than $20,000.

Telemarketing fraud is a felony. Under HRS section 708-835.6, it is telemarketing fraud, a class B felony, to obtain or try to obtain someone's property with intent to defraud through communications conducted at least in part by telephone, claiming that the person "will or is about to receive anything of value," or that the person "may be able to recover any losses suffered by the person contacted in connection with a prize promotion." The statute's definition of telemarketing refers to a "plan, program, or campaign" involving more than one telephone call.

Financial institutions must report. Under HRS section 412:3-114.5, a financial institution "shall report suspected financial abuse that is directed towards, targets, or is committed against an elder to the department of human services and the appropriate county police department" when an employee who deals with the elder, or reviews or approves the elder's records or transactions, believes in good faith that financial abuse appears to be happening. "Elder" in this law means 62 or older, and the report is due "immediately or as soon as practicably possible." Reporters acting in good faith are immune from civil and criminal liability.

Holds: securities firms. Hawaii law lets a broker-dealer or investment adviser (a "qualified person") "delay a disbursement from, or a transaction in connection with, an account of an elder or a vulnerable adult" (HRS section 485A-806). The delay ends when the firm determines there is no exploitation or after 15 business days, unless the securities commissioner asks for an extension, in which case it ends no later than 25 business days; a court can extend it further. Within two business days, the firm must notify the commissioner and give written notice to the parties authorized on the account, except anyone it reasonably believes is involved in the suspected exploitation. Hawaii's Financial Institutions Code (HRS chapter 412), in the edition posted on the Legislature's site, contains no comparable hold power for banks or credit unions. If you are worried about a parent's account, telling the bank you suspect a scam can still trigger its duty to report. If the account holder is a vulnerable adult, the Department of Human Services can also ask the family court for an order for immediate protection, which may bar other people from withdrawing the adult's funds from a bank, credit union or stock account (HRS section 346-231).

Adult Protective Services. Report suspected abuse of a "vulnerable adult" (a defined term covering adults 18 or older with certain impairments) through the online DHS 1640 form or, anonymously, at (808) 832-5115. Under HRS section 346-224, certain professionals must report; the department says "all others are encouraged to report." A person required to report who knowingly fails to do so commits a petty misdemeanor. Not every older scam victim is a vulnerable adult, so for a scam without that kind of impairment, OCP and the police are the usual routes.

The age lines differ by statute: the criminal theft rule starts at 60, while the financial institution reporting law and the civil remedy for elders start at 62. For more on scams aimed at older people, see our elder fraud guide.

Hawaii scam laws on the books

Cash-to-crypto kiosks are banned

Act 224 of 2026 (H.B. 1642), signed by the Governor on July 9, 2026, adds a section to HRS chapter 481B. Its core rule:

"(a) Beginning October 1, 2026, it shall be an unlawful practice under this chapter for an operator to own, operate, or manage in the State a digital financial asset transaction kiosk that accepts United States currency from a customer in exchange for a digital financial asset."

The ban is in force. Each transaction that violates it is a separate offense, and under HRS section 481B-4 a violation of chapter 481B is treated as an unfair or deceptive act within the meaning of section 480-2. The Act does not ban kiosks that go the other way: an operator may still run a kiosk that takes a digital asset in exchange for a different digital asset or for U.S. currency.

What this means for you: if someone tells you to feed cash into a crypto machine in Hawaii, stop. Since October 1, 2026, the machine's operator is not allowed to offer that transaction. The Act is a ban, not a refund law: it does not create a right to get back money lost at a kiosk, and it does not set transaction limits. Whether card-funded kiosk purchases fall under the ban is not clear from the text we reviewed.

The Legislature's findings in the Act cite FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center figures: in 2024, "more than 10,956 complaints reporting the use of kiosks, with reported victim losses of approximately $246,700,000."

Two other measures did not become law. S.B. 2387 (2026), which would have set kiosk transaction limits and refund rules, went to a conference committee; its last recorded action was the appointment of House conferees on April 20, 2026, and its measure page lists no Act. S.B. 985, a gift card fraud bill, also shows no Act on its measure pages. For how crypto scams work, see our crypto and investment scams guide.

Telemarketing rules

Hawaii's telemarketing law (HRS chapter 481P) targets a common follow-up scam: the "recovery" call promising to get back money you already lost. Section 481P-3(3) makes it an abusive practice to "Request or receive payment from a consumer to recover or otherwise aid in the return of money or any other item lost by the consumer in a telemarketing transaction, until seven business days after the money or other item is delivered to the consumer." A violation counts as an unfair or deceptive act under section 480-2 (section 481P-6), and under section 481P-8 a contract made through telemarketing that violates the chapter "is voidable by the consumer for any reason at any time." Section 481P-5 exempts some sellers, including federally insured depository institutions and registered securities salespersons.

Door-to-door sales: three business days to cancel

For door-to-door sales, HRS section 481C-2 requires the contract or receipt to tell you: "YOU, THE BUYER, MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT OF THE THIRD BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE DATE OF THIS TRANSACTION." Leaving that notice out is an unfair or deceptive act or practice. The rule covers sales of $5 or more (or $25 if the merchandise can be delivered at one time), and it does not cover transactions conducted and consummated entirely by mail or telephone without any other contact between the buyer and the seller or its representative before delivery or performance (HRS section 481C-1).

Suing a scammer or a business in Hawaii

Small claims. Hawaii's small claims division hears "Cases for the recovery of money only where the amount claimed does not exceed $5,000 exclusive of interest and costs" (HRS section 633-27). Using small claims is optional for the plaintiff.

Deadlines. A claim under chapter 480 has the four-year limit above. For a common-law fraud claim, Hawaii courts have not settled which general limitation period applies. Section 657-7 sets two years for actions "for the recovery of compensation for damage or injury to persons or property," and section 657-1 sets six years for "Personal actions of any nature whatsoever not specifically covered by the laws of the State." In Thomas v. Kidani (2011), the Hawaii Supreme Court said of a real estate fraud claim: "There is no explicit statute of limitations for claims of real estate fraud. We need not determine exactly which general statute of limitations should apply because six years is the longest statute of limitations potentially applicable to the case." The cautious course is to assume the shorter two-year period could apply.

Hawaii applies a discovery rule: in the court's words, "the statute of limitations begins running when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the damage." And under section 657-20, if a person liable for a claim "fraudulently conceals the existence of the cause of action or the identity of any person who is liable for the claim," the action may be brought "at any time within six years after the person who is entitled to bring the same discovers or should have discovered" the claim or the liable person's identity. How these rules apply to your dates is a question for a Hawaii lawyer. Our Hawaii statute of limitations guide covers other civil deadlines.

Who you can actually reach. Lawsuits work against people and businesses with a name, an address and assets. A scammer who hid behind a fake identity, a spoofed caller ID or an overseas account is usually not reachable through a Hawaii court. In those cases the payment company, a fast report to law enforcement, and protecting your identity are where your effort pays off; see our Hawaii identity theft guide.

Related guides

• Scams and fraud: your rights and where to start
• How to get money back after a scam
• Where to report a scam
• Zelle and payment app scams
• Crypto and investment scams
• Elder fraud
• Phishing, smishing and vishing
• Hawaii identity theft laws
• Hawaii debt collection laws
• Hawaii statute of limitations

Last updated: October 2, 2026.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact your payment company, the Hawaii office named above, or a lawyer licensed in Hawaii.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a scammer in Hawaii?

Possibly, if you are a consumer under HRS section 480-1 (a natural person who bought, tried to buy or was solicited to buy goods or services, or made a personal investment, primarily for personal, family or household purposes) and you can identify and serve the scammer. Whether a victim who simply sent money to an impostor counts as a consumer is unsettled, and an anonymous or overseas scammer is usually not reachable through a Hawaii court.

Does Hawaii's consumer protection law award triple damages?

For a consumer injured by a deceptive act who wins, yes: section 480-13(b)(1) says the plaintiff shall be awarded the greater of $1,000 or three times the damages sustained, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The $1,000 minimum does not apply in a class action.

Do older scam victims get more under Hawaii law?

A consumer plaintiff 62 or older may instead be awarded the greater of $5,000 or three times their damages, plus fees and costs, after the court considers the factors in section 480-13.5. A separate court-imposed civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation against an elder exists, but the statute does not say the victim receives it.

How long do I have to sue under Hawaii's consumer protection law?

Four years after the claim accrues, under HRS section 480-24. For a common-law fraud claim the period is unsettled (two or six years), so act early.

Do I have to send a demand letter before suing in Hawaii?

Sections 480-2 and 480-13, which create a consumer's right to sue over deceptive practices, contain no pre-suit notice or demand-letter requirement.

Will the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection get my money back?

Do not expect it. OCP says it represents the public and does not act as private counsel for individual complainants; a complaint may lead to an investigation or legal action. Contact your payment company about a reversal.

Are crypto ATMs legal in Hawaii?

Since October 1, 2026, Act 224 (2026) makes it unlawful to own, operate or manage a kiosk in Hawaii that accepts U.S. currency in exchange for a digital asset. Kiosks that pay out cash for crypto remain lawful, and the Act does not create a refund right.

Can a Hawaii bank freeze a transaction if it suspects elder fraud?

Hawaii's hold statute, HRS 485A-806, covers broker-dealers and investment advisers, who may delay an elder's disbursement for up to 15 business days, or 25 if the securities commissioner asks; no similar bank hold power appears in the Financial Institutions Code. Banks must report suspected financial abuse of customers 62 or older to the Department of Human Services and county police (HRS 412:3-114.5).

Who do I call if an elderly person in Hawaii is being scammed?

OCP takes scam complaints at 808-586-2630, and the DOJ Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) helps with fraud against anyone 60 or older. If the person is a vulnerable adult with an impairment, also report to Adult Protective Services through form DHS 1640 or anonymously at (808) 832-5115.

What is the small claims limit in Hawaii?

$5,000, not counting interest and costs, for cases seeking money only (HRS section 633-27).