Alaska often tops rankings for undesirable characteristics, but when it comes to white-collar crimes like identity theft and fraud, it falls in the middle and back of the pack. Still, officials say there are a variety of ways scammers operate in Alaska, and warn residents to be on alert for possible fraud.
The Alaska rankings come from annual data released last month by the Federal Trade Commission. Among the general findings of the report: Identity theft tops consumer complaints nationwide.
Alaska ranked 29th in identity theft complaints in 2014, reporting 73.6 complaints for every 100,000 Alaskans.
Comparatively, there were about 409 complaints of fraud per 100,000 Alaska residents, the report says, but that number was still low enough to make Alaska 45th in the category of "fraud and other complaints."
Assistant Attorney General Davyn Williams said the practices for protecting yourself against identity theft and fraud are similar. She advised Alaskans to avoid giving out personal information over the phone or email, use secure passwords for accounts and shred old documents.
The Alaska Department of Law's Consumer Protection Unit offers advice on how to identify scams on its website. Red flags include high-pressure tactics, up-front payment, refusal to provide written information and unrealistic profits.
The Anchorage Police Department gets reports of scams daily, said APD communications director Jennifer Castro. The department's fraud unit investigates cases with "viable suspect information."
"There isn't necessarily a monetary threshold for us to investigate cases," Castro said, "but if there is a scam being generated locally or someone is a victim of identity theft locally, we investigate those cases."
Types of fraud and identity theft were categorized in the trade commission's report. Complaints in Alaska are spread somewhat evenly among 10 fraud categories but "prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries" make up 15 percent of the total.
Williams said prize scams are very prevalent in Alaska. Such scams promise winnings in exchange for an entry fee, or suggest a person has already won a prize.
"We've had people bring in binders full of solicitations they've received," she said.
The protection unit advises people to beware of phrases pressuring action, such as, "Don't discuss your sweepstakes winnings with anyone until you get your check."
Ranking second in the category of fraud crimes are impostor scams, according to the report. Eleven percent of the state's complaints involved such schemes.
Scams of that type common in Alaska, according to the protection unit, are what have been called the "Nigerian Letter" or "4-1-9" scam. Someone poses as a government official, bank employee or wealthy person in a foreign country and asks people to help transfer large sums of cash to a U.S. bank account. The scammer requests cash to cover transfer costs and, in exchange, offers a reward.
The scheme has been seen in Alaska for at least a decade. State officials warned residents of a localized scheme in 2005 that exploited the memory of the late Morris Thompson, an Alaska Native and business leader who died five years earlier. In exchange for "attorneys fees" or other costs, the scam offered a piece of Thompson's estate.
Phone scams account for 4 percent of the state's fraud complaints. The scams have many variations, and one example is currently playing out in Southeast. On Tuesday, the Juneau Police Department got six reports about a caller claiming to work at the city and borough water department who demanded immediate payment for outstanding bills.
As for identity theft, "government documents and benefits fraud" accounts for more than half of the state's reports.
A week ago, two Fairbanks residents were arrested for filing nearly 100 false tax returns claiming about $215,000 in refunds. Federal prosecutors said the defendants used tax information of inmates in correctional facilities.
A currently popular tax-related impostor scam involves people pretending to be with the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Treasury, Williams said. The scam goes after people's tax information, she said.
"We know that's a big problem here and nationwide," she said. "We're consistently reporting those types of crimes, so people should be really careful about who they give their information to."