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WAPA on Friday reminded its customers of the need to remain vigilant when responding to emails regarding billing and payment information.
The authority said it has been made aware of one instance where a phishing email, purported to be from WAPA, was received by a customer. The email sender attempted to have the recipient alter the way it makes regular payments to the authority.
Phishing is a type of online scam where criminals send an email that appears to be from a legitimate company asking the recipient to provide sensitive information. WAPA said its policies do not require customers to provide financial information via email.
“All customers are encouraged to review emails they receive which appear to be in the name of the Authority, and, when in doubt, do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service team for verification,” said WAPA Executive Director Lawrence Kupfer.
The authority said legitimate emails it sends end with the domain, @viwapa.vi. Any other iteration represents a fraudulent attempt by an email sender to phish the targeted recipient. “Our customer service personnel have already reached out to the class of customers that would have been affected by this phishing attempt. We are bringing this to the public’s attention out of an abundance of caution, and to remind our customers of the need to be observant in carrying out electronic financial transactions whether by phone, wire, ACH transfers or other electronic methods,” Kupfer said.
WAPA Customer Service Offices can be contacted at 340-774-3552 or 340-773-2250, select option 5.
