Today, I will not provide with any legal advice. Just a heads up . Some colleagues have been informing me that people have received some ‘phishing ‘messages. For those of you who don’t know what that means : You receive a message from in theory an official body , but probably they will steal your passwords, bank accounts, or download a virus in your computer or mobile phone.
Phishing is defined at Wikipedia as “the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Typically carried out by email spoofing or instant messaging, it often directs users to enter personal information at a fake website which matches the look and feel of the legitimate site.”
The large community of expats in Spain may not be familiarise with how the authority’s bodies ( like Social Security, Labour authority…etc) communicate with the taxpayer. Therefore, they are undefended before this criminals’ acts.
Some examples are as follows:
1.- Messages on behalf of the labour authority, saying that you will be sanctioned.
The Labour authority has alerted companies that it has detected an attempt at fraud by sending emails on behalf of the State Agency for Labour and Social Security Inspection.
Said email is not forwarded by this body, so its content «may be malicious» and therefore companies are requested to ignore it and refrain from accessing the link.
The email looks like this:
The Guardia Civil and the labour authority has mention this phishing ’messages on their Twitter: Also they enabled a citizen communication channel on March 22 to receive information about online fraud and scams on the occasion of the coronavirus. Through the account ciberestafas@guardiacivil.org citizens can report possible scams and fraudulent sales related to Covid-19 as a hook.
Also, the labour Union UGT, has informed that some of these messages mention the famous ERTES. Since a lot of workers had been affected by an ERTE, is really easy for them to trick you here.
2.- Other messages:
There are also some WhatsApp messages going around: Guardia Civil has also reported them:
They recommend you just to ignore the message. In theory they are informing you about the Coronavirus and also about how to obtain masks. But is malware.
Other example : You receive an email offering you some antiseptic gel , all you have to do is provide them your details . Do not do it, is fake .
The Policia Nacional has also reported another one . Someone on behalf of Mercadona will offer you some free food or money:
In the mail, they include a link that takes the user to a website, in theory known, but which is a copy of the original, where personal data or keys are requested. And since we are naturally confident, people open it and read those emails that include infected files or links to fake web pages. At that moment, the cybercriminal appropriates your data.
Be extra carefull at what do you click, and in case of doubt, double-check with ciberestafas@guardiacivil.org. They have informed that we should take precautions such as the following:
- It is recommended to pay special attention to the sender of the received emails.
- Avoid opening documents and attachments about COVID-19 in emails received.
- Be suspicious of requests for health data over the internet, a procedure that is not normally done by health authorities .
- Do not download and install unofficial applications related to COVID-19.
- Upon the slightest suspicion of having been the subject of a scam of this type, notify banks of this circumstance.
You can also call the following numbers from la Junta de Andalucia 955 54 50 60 or 900 400 061 if this is your region.
I hope you found this info useful. Keep safe!
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