With Hurricane (now Tropical Storm) Ida wreaking havoc in Louisiana and elsewhere, the NCUA has warned credit unions and their members to exercise caution in handling any email from “duplicitous” charitable organizations requesting donations — even if it appears to originate from a trusted source.

Fraudulent emails commonly appear after major natural disasters and often contain links or attachments that direct users to phishing or malware-infected websites, according to the agency. Information on how to recognize, take action and protect your credit union and personal financial information from this kind of scam are available on the Fraud Prevention Center website.

The NCUA also urged all federally insured credit unions to perform periodic routine reviews of their disaster preparedness and response plans. “These plans should be commensurate with the complexity of operations and focus on minimizing interruptions of service to members and maintaining member confidence in times of an emergency,” the agency stated.

Credit unions can access disaster planning, response and contingency plan resources on the NCUA website.