The Hawaii Tourism Authority sent a warning about a complicated scam that has already led to substantial financial losses through fraudulent chargebacks for multiple local businesses. 

The details of the scam are not entirely clear, but it starts with selling heavily discounted Hawaii tour packages to Chinese visitors through Xiaohongshu, known in English as “Little Red Book” or “RedNote,” a popular Chinese social media and e-commerce app, for activities and attractions such as Pearl Harbor National Memorial, whale watching, snorkeling, scuba tours, state parks, and more. 

At first, the transactions appear legitimate: tourists receive valid confirmations, take part in tours, and receive services from legitimate businesses. However, after the traveler enjoys the tour, fraudulent chargebacks (when a payment is returned to a credit or debit card) are initiated through various means, resulting in financial losses for local businesses, according to HTA. 

“This scheme is particularly difficult to detect as visitors appear with legitimate bookings under their real names, and the fraud only becomes apparent after services are provided and businesses have already incurred the operational costs,” HTA wrote in its warning. 

Spectrum News Hawaii reached out to HTA for more information about who is disputing the transactions for financial gain, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

Hawaii Tourism China, a division of HTA that focuses on China, is working to combat this scam:

• HTC has filed claims on Xiaohongshu for suspicious accounts selling heavily discounted Hawaii tours and activities. 
• HTC posted an alert notice on official social media accounts, including those on Xiaohongshu, WeChat, Weibo and Douyin, encouraging customers to only book via authorized online travel agency platforms such as trip.com. 
• To amplify these warnings, HTC coordinated with Brand USA, which reposted the notice on their WeChat account last week to reach a broader audience. 
• HTC also met with the U.S. Embassy Beijing Commercial Department to inform them of the scam. They expressed willingness to engage directly with Xiaohongshu, but require comprehensive evidence documentation, according to HTA. 

HTA asked that any local businesses who have experienced similar fraudulent activity to document all incidents thoroughly and contact the Better Business Bureau.