HONOLULU -- A band of unlicensed driveway pavers that first showed up here last fall appears to have returned to Hawaii, once again scamming people out of their money.

In November, investigators from the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs as well as police officers converged at a house on Judd Street in Nuuanu, stopping five men from re-paving a driveway without a license. The state issued all five men citations. Two of them paid $500 fines last month.

This week, the state and the Better Business Bureau received new complaints that men matching the description of the same men ticketed last fall are once again scamming people with asphalt paving jobs. The BBB started receiving the complaints on Wednesday.

"They're still here. Maybe they never left," said Dwight Kealoha, who heads Hawaii’s BBB office. "I would be very suspicious about anybody showing up at your doorstep to do work."

Officials say the unlicensed crews go door-to-door, offering discounted paving, often claiming they have leftover asphalt from another job.

But the work is usually faulty and while they entice customers with a low price, part way through the job they often demand significantly more money, according to Jo Ann Uchida, Complaints and Enforcement Officer of the state’s Regulated Industries Complaints Office. “It’s a very old scam,” she said.

"You've got a cheating contractor and sort of a vulnerable homeowner that wants to get the work done for as little as possible. And buyer beware," said Kyle Chock, Executive Director of Pacific Resource Partnership, which represents unionized contractors and the carpenter's union.

"You want to make sure that you're dealing with a licensed contractor who's licensed to perform the kind of work that you want him to do," Chock said.

Most legitimate contractors do not cruise through neighborhoods, soliciting business, Kealoha said.

If someone offers you a great price for a paving job or any other home project, Chock recommends you get a contract in writing and ask for references. "Do you homework and be very cautious in terms of who you decide to come on your property to start a job that you're not sure they can finish," he said.

Anti-fraud experts say you should check with the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs as well as the Better Business Bureau to make sure contractors are licensed and don't have complaints against them.

Sometimes these scammers have licenses from other states, so make sure they have a Hawaii license card, Uchida said. Check that the contractor’s license is for the type of work you're having done. For instance, you wouldn't want a roofing contractor to do electrical work on your house, she said.