Scam alert from Hawaii’s eight largest banks: Phishing scams and fraudulent activity targeting consumers’ personal and banking information are increasing, so beware.

These scams often involve criminals posing as legitimate financial institutions, using email, text messages or phone calls to trick customers into disclosing personal and financial info; these include messages that have malicious links to fake websites made to look like banking sites.

The Federal Trade Commission says consumers lost nearly $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022, up more than 30% over the previous year. Do what you can to protect your hard-earned money. Never provide personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you unsolicited; don’t click on suspicious links; and always verify the legitimacy of any communication.