Skagway police warn that fake city invoices are reaching residents

Skagway police warned residents Friday that fake invoices made to look like bills from the Municipality of Skagway are reaching people in town.

The department asked residents to be careful with anything that appears to come from the city, on paper or by email. Police encouraged anyone who gets a city bill to check that it's real by calling City Hall at 907-983-2297 or the police department at 907-983-2232.

Police did not say what the fake invoices claim to be for or whether anyone has paid one.

Skagway's police have warned about similar messages before. In a June 2025 alert, they said the municipality never asks for payment by wire transfer, does not send invoices for application fees, and sends email only from addresses ending in @skagway.org.

Similar schemes have turned up elsewhere in Alaska. In October, a Mat-Su marijuana shop told the borough's Planning Commission it had received 10 fake invoices in nine days, together asking for more than $45,000 by wire. Co-owner Terry Zell almost paid the first one before noticing the borough doesn't ask for wire transfers, Zell said.

"Who's this woman in Texas that I'm supposed to be sending money to?" Zell said.

The Kodiak Island Borough warned zoning applicants about a wire transfer scam in September. In Anchorage, Planning Director Mélisa Babb told the Planning and Zoning Commission in August that a group was using AI to pull contact and case information from the city's permitting system and email applicants requesting fees.

"People have actually fallen victim to this and lost thousands of dollars," Babb said.