KENAI, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska attorney general has warned residents to look out for scammers posing as employees of the Alaska USA Federal Credit Union.
The phishing scam sends a text or email to residents in Alaska claiming that their credit union account has been suspended, and the recipient must click a link and provide information to unlock it, the state Department of Law said in a news release.
Scams where people pose as representatives of a major companies to gain access to a user’s information are common phishing schemes, Attorney General Kevin G. Clarkson said in a news release.
“Scammers are good at mimicking trusted businesses,” he said. “We all have to be vigilant in protecting our personal information, and in reporting suspected scams to the authorities.”
Alaska USA encourages people not to click on the link or provide any personal information, company executives said.
Scammers are targeting the 907 area code, and people who don’t have an account with Alaska USA could still receive a message, said Dan McCue, senior vice president of corporate relations for Alaska USA.
One in three Alaskans have accounts at Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, McCue said.
Alaska USA will never contact customers by text or email asking them to click on a link to reactivate an account, McCue said. Residents are encouraged to call the company at its public phone number and ask for a representative if an unexpected email is received and it is unclear if it is a scam, he said.
Residents who responded to such a scam are encouraged to call Alaska USA and report the incident to identitytheft.gov, Clarkson said.