City of Albany issues alert over potential phishing email from staff asking for personal details

The City of Albany has urged people to be cautious when opening “unexpected” emails from a city staff address after a phishing email asking for personal information was sent out on Friday.

Executive director of corporate and commercial services Matthew Gilfellon said the city’s IT team took immediate action to secure the compromised account and a investigation had been launched.

“Today, a City of Albany staff member clicked on a link in an email from a person known to them and without their knowledge a phishing email has been sent to a number of contacts, including external community members,” he said.

“The email, from a City of Albany email address, contained a link that, if clicked, directed recipients to a page encouraging them to enter personal information such as usernames and passwords.

“We are aware that other well-known local businesses and organisations have also been affected by similar activity.

“These emails are part of a broader phishing attempt and are not isolated to the City of Albany.”

It is not believed any data was breached or accessed.

The city recommends anyone who received an unexpected email from a city staff member should delete it and those who already clicked the link and entered their details should change their passwords immediately.

Mr Gilfellon said cyber security was a shared responsibility and thanked the community for their understanding.

“We encourage everyone to be cautious about unexpected emails — especially those asking for login or personal details,” he said.

“We will continue to keep our community updated if further information becomes available.”

The city has escalated the incident and it is being managed in line with its data breach response policy.