Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 7, 1 July 2020 — Beware: Scammers are Targeting Homesteaders [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Beware: Scammers are Targeting Homesteaders

/ 'O KANŪHOU ĀINA V ^ HO'OPULAPULA f

By Cedric Duarte

DEPARTMFNT OF HAWAIIAN HOMF. LANDS The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed thousands of Hawai'i residents out of work. Scammers, however, are working overtime to swindle people out of their hard-earned money. Recently, the Federal Trade Commission made state level data available about COVID-19 related complaints from consumers. The agency states that Hawai'i has seen nearly 1,000 reports of

fraud in the first quarter of 2020 alone, with residents losing $2.8 million to illicit schemes. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has heard several reports of mortgage scams targeting homesteaders. In most cases, the fraudsters are offering to pay or lower the mortgage on a lessee's homestead property. Sometimes the calls are random, but in other cases the scammer is referred by a relative or friend. The schemes offer mortgage payments made through elaborate exchanges of cashier' s checks, wire transfers and loans, with fees sometimes paid to members of the scam. In one instance, a DHHL beneficiary worked with a scammer to apply for two loans. The lessee received a cashier's eheek from a legitimate Hawai'i bank, whieh they applied to their mortgage, and another eheek from a mainland institution. The mainland payment was then wired to the deceiver as a fee to pay off the mortgage. Needless to say the balanee of the mortgage was not paid, and the alleged scammer ean no longer be

reached, leaving the homesteader with an unpaid mortgage, late fees and more debt. DHHL would like homesteaders to be wary of mortgage schemes that seem too good to be true. In April, DHHL implemented a legitimate program to defer mortgage payments for those with Departmentissued direct loans and HUD launched mortgage forbearance for those with insured or guaranteed mortgages. If you are struggling with your mortgage payment, contact the Department at (808) 620-9500 to learn more about assistance options. ■ Cedric R. Duarte is the Information & Community Relations Officer for tlie Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. He has worked in communications and marketing since 1 999 and is a longtime event organizer. A product of the Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawai 'i at Mānoa, he resides in 'Aiea with his wife and two daughters.