Phishing Alert

Alaska USA members have received fraudulent e-mail or phone messages asking for account information.

The content of the messages varies, but typically includes a link to a web site asking for personal information. Some versions include a phone number to call that connects the member to a voice mail system to gather the data. In either case, this kind of fraud is called phishing.

Recent phishing attacks have tried to induce members into revealing their account information in many different ways, including:

• Threatening to restrict or block access to the member's account if they do not verify certain facts or "renew" their account.
• Claiming that Alaska USA would deposit money into the member's account upon completing a survey
• Advertising promotions or contests, which require the member to "register" their account information to be entered.
• Warning of suspicious activity on the member account and asking for confirmation.
• Asking the member to update their information in the Alaska USA database to provide enhanced security.

Please protect your account information. Do not respond to messages asking for your passwords, social security number, or other confidential account information. Alaska USA will never request this kind of account information by e-mail or phone unless the transaction is member initiated.

Don't follow links in e-mail messages, even if the message appears to arrive from a trusted source.

For additional information about phishing, see our Fraud & Scam protection page. If you have reason to believe that someone is soliciting your personal Alaska USA account information, please contact the Member Service Center.

 IRS e-mail and telephone scams

The Internal Revenue Service warns of several recent phishing scams using the IRS name as a lure. These scams attempt to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft.

In these scams, consumers receive e-mail messages or phone calls with promises of rebates or refunds, or threats of audit. In each case, the solution is for the consumer to provide personal or account information, either directly by phone or by following a link in the e-mail message.

More information is available at the IRS web site.

Never reveal your personal or account information by phone or email unless it is a transaction that you initiate, using addresses that you know are reliable.

 Protect yourself from check fraud

Check fraud can cost you money. Learn to recognize and avoid it.

In common check fraud scams, you receive a check and are asked to deposit it into your account. The provider of the check then asks you to return some or all of the money. When you discover that the check is fake, you hard earned mony is long gone.

There are many versions of check fraud scams, including:

• Fake lottery
• Secret shopper
• Online sales
• Aid to someone in a foreign country
• Quick credit scams

Learn more in the Check fraud infosheet, or at fakechecks.org, a site created by National Consumers League (NCL).

 Beware of the Trojan Horse Phishing Scam

In one example of a Trojan Horse scam, managers and business executives are targeted by an e-mail claiming to be from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The e-mail poses as a complaint notice filed against the company. When the link is clicked to download "complaint details," a Trojan horse program steals data from the victim's computer.

The information collected can be used for many illegal activities including identity theft, blackmail, or industrial espionage.

Protect yourself and your company from the loss of confidential data by following these steps:

• Never click on a link or attachment in a message from an unverified source.
• Verify the source of any message that demands action on your part.
• Confirm the phone number. Do not rely on any phone numbers in the message itself.
• Enable junk e-mail filters.
• Keep anti-virus and anti-spyware tools up to date.
• If you have received the Trojan horse, or a similar hoax, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

 Beware of Classified Advertising Scams

Some "buyers" you meet online might actually be trying to rip you off. Protect your money — look for these signs of a potentially fraudulent deal:

• E-mail messages full of poor grammar and spelling;
• Messages not signed with an individual's name;
• A sense of urgency to purchase, even if details or a photo of the item have not been provided;
• The buyer is purchasing from you on behalf of a "client";
• The buyer wants a shipping agent to pick up the item and asks for your home address;
• Payment is sent as a cashier's check or money order, the amount is more than the listed price, and you are asked to wire the remainder back;
• Use of a TTY device to "confirm" purchase — this is sometimes done to disguise their voice.

If you receive a check from a "buyer" asking you to wire or moneygram any amount back, do not deposit it into your account. Bring any suspicious check to an Alaska USA branch and inform a member service representative of your concerns.

Don't be a victim. Classified advertising scams can be costly and embarrassing. You should refuse to deal with anyone who seems suspicious to you.

Identity Theft and Online Scams

 Avoiding the Secret Shopper Scam

Secret shopping can be a legitimate job, but fraudsters are now advertising "secret shopper" jobs that are really just scams and can lure honest job seekers into passing counterfeit checks.

Here's how it works: You answer a secret shopper ad in the local newspaper. The ad, including web site and phone number, looks genuine.

Once you are "chosen" (which is always the case in this type of scam), you will receive a letter in the mail stating the first assignment -- to complete a training course within a short period of time. Enclosed in the letter is a valid-looking check, which is to be deposited into your account and immediately returned to the secret shopper company by wire from a local retail store.

The training course is made to look as if you will be using this wire process in the local retail store as your first secret shopper experience. The valid-looking check ends up being fraudulent and the funds you transfer are your own. As the "shopper", you can be out hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars.

Tips to avoid being taken:

• Always check the credentials of any organization hiring through classified ads that you do not know personally.
• Never use your personal account for making "business" transactions. Legitimate businesses will not ask you to do this.
• Never accept a check from someone, or a business, you do not know without checking to assure the check is real and the funds available. Your financial institution can assist in helping you determine if the check is valid.
• Never give out your personal account information, passwords, or other personal information on the Internet or by phone unless you have initiated the transaction.

Identity Theft and Online Scams