Spain’s National Police Warn Of Tax Agency Related Smishing Scam
Spain News
Published: 18 July 2022 10:32 CET
Updated: 20 July 2022 10:32 CET
Spain’s National Police have warned the public of a new text message scam.
The agency took to its Twitter account to advise the public of a new ‘smishing’ exploit which purports to be from the country’s tax agency.
The ruse is one that is constantly being used by scammers. Firstly, they will attempt to convince you that they are contacting you from a genuine public institution. Secondly, they will look to add a sense of urgency, claiming that something that is rightfully yours is awaiting your collection. In this case, it is a tax rebate.
The method is simple: send the user a text claiming to be from the tax agency (Agencia Tributaria) and tell them that a tax refund of 244.79 euros is due for collection.
The text will then redirect the user to an external web page that looks like the tax agency's website. However, it is not and this is where the scammers will look to grab your personal credentials via a web form.
According to the National Police, the receiving of these texts should automatically raise suspicion given the format and wording of the message.
Fact is, there is no tax rebate of 244.79 euros due, and the message is not from the country’s tax authority, the Agencia Tributaria.
Once you hit the website, the scammers will remind you again that they have a large refund waiting for you and that you will have to fill out a form to receive it.
As usual, it is nothing more than a cunning ploy to get you to share your personal banking credentials.
Although these attempts are not very sophisticated, the scammers only need a very small success rate in order to make a killing.
In order to deal with these types of threats, cyber security firm Entelgy Innotec offers a series of tips to help you avoid falling into the trap.
This includes checking the phone number of the sender of the SMS or the greeting used to check its spelling or not opening emails from unknown users.
Simple steps that will help you avoid major problems.
It is also not advisable to click on hyperlinks within text messages, links contained in suspicious emails or downloading applications of dubious origin.
Also, act with caution when downloading files or executables attached to messages and enter your personal data only on pages with the 'https' protocol that you consider safe.
If you are in any doubt, you should contact the sender via telephone to confirm the legitimacy of the message.
In this instance, the text message is most definitely false - there is no tax rebate waiting to be received!
Source
https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2022/07/18/no-te-precipites-la-policia-alerta-sobre-la-ultima-estafa-relacionada-con-la-agencia-tributaria-disenada-para-robarte-tu-dinero-cadena-ser/
