Customers of Central Pacific Bank and Hickam Federal Credit Union are the subjects of the latest "phishing" effort to hit Hawai'i. Both institutions said they're telling customers not to respond to fraudulent e-mails that purport to be from the institutions.

Both e-mails are similar in that they say accounts are inactivated and try to harvest people's user ID and passwords when people click on a link contained in the message.

The e-mails are the latest attack by thieves who use the Internet to send e-mails that look like they come from a bank or credit union. The messages typically include a link to an official-looking Web page that asks for personal information that thieves can use to empty bank accounts or run up credit card charges.

The fake Central Pacific e-mail says they need customers to re-activate their accounts. When people click on the link they are taken to a Web page where they are asked for card numbers, PIN numbers and their e-mail address.

At Hickam Federal Credit Union, Director of Marketing Blaine Asao said the scam appeared to be an attempt to gain access to people's accounts. But he said even if the log-on information is harvested, the thieves will have a difficult time trying to get money from accounts. Asao said that's because the credit union's authentication process now requires more than just providing a user ID and password to access online accounts.

A number of local banks and credit unions have been the subject of such attacks over the past two years. The institutions are currently running an advertising campaign letting people know they would never send an unsolicited e-mail asking for personal data.