There are many ways to scamand fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated techniques to impersonate institutions such as the DGT, banks or companies through channels that we use every day such as SMS, email or WhatsApp. But others only require a pen and paper.
In recent months, there are warnings about a scam that the victim can fall for relatively easily, so be careful if one day you find yourself Damaged rearview mirror and a note on the windshield.
“I broke your mirror, I’m sorry. Call this number”
The modus operandi is quite simple: the scammer damages the rearview mirror and leaves a note apologising and informing you that he accidentally broke the mirror. He then asks the victim to contact him via a telephone number, supposedly to sort out the matter with the relevant insurance companies.
From this point, if the victim proceeds to make the call, two things can happen: on the one hand, the scammer may ask for their personal data to access sensitive information. On the other hand, they may ask you to access a link via WhatsApp that supposedly belongs to an insurance company. And this is where the problems arise.
This link leads to a Malicious page designed to collect personal and banking data which will be used to carry out unauthorised operations. It may also be software that allows another person to see what you are doing on your mobile. For this reason, it is very important to never trust third parties, not to access suspicious links and to directly contact your bank, insurance company or any entity that is supposedly trying to contact you.
For years, the Mossos d’Esquadra have been warning of another type of scam that is easier to detect, in which two criminals driving a car with a foreign number plate deliberately damage the victim’s rear-view mirror and blame the victim. They then ask in a hurry to start the process and pretend to speak to their insurance company, which is actually an accomplice who asks the victim for a sum of up to 1,500 euros for the repair. If the victim falls for it, he will even withdraw the money in cash to end the matter.
From the National Institute of Cybersecurity of Spain recommend that if you have been the victim of fraud or a crime, you file a complaint with the State Security Forces and Corps at any police station or through their different web portals. To do this, it is important that you gather all the information related to the fraud and, at the same time, notify your bank about the situation. In addition, the INCIBE’s free cybersecurity helpline: 017, as well as instant messaging channels WhatsApp (900 116 117) and Telegram (@INCIBE017).
Source: www.motorpasion.com
