Ghost of Barbara Jones: Scam impersonating Anchorage official is making the rounds

Anchorage Municipal Clerk Jamie Heinz has issued a warning that there’s an email scam that is impersonating her office that is making the rounds.

The email is targeting applicants for marijuana and alcohol licenses and is separately targeting people asking for appearances before the regular Assembly meetings.

Some applicants who requested to appear before the Assembly received a scam email inviting the recipient to pay an additional fee to “invite your favorite politician” to the meeting and air the segment on “a major television network as part of a public education initiative.”

The Municipal Clerk’s Office does not request payment from applicants for additional add-ons to public meeting appearances, Heinz noted. The office didn’t indicate how the scammers got ahold of the email addresses of the people requesting appearances.

Some license applicants received a scam email announcing a “newly introduced municipal compensation fee.” The scam asserts applicants must pay the new fee to “cover several aspects” of the application process, including “infrastructural provision” to pay for public utilities and road maintenance, described as “essential for your customers’ convenience.” The scam claims that paying the fee helps “qualify your business for any future grants.”

The Municipal Clerk’s Office does not administer grants and does not pay into general government operations.

In both instances, the scam misidentifies the Municipal Clerk as former Clerk Barbara Jones, Heinz said. Jones left the municipality and went to work on the campaign of now-Mayor Suzanne LaFrance.

The scam was sent from an email ending in @usa.com. The Municipal Clerk’s Office only communicates using official @muni.org and @anchorageak.gov email addresses.

If you receive an email like this, please call the Municipal Clerk’s Office at 907-343-4311 or forward the email to [email protected] to report the scam.