“Hi, your package has been held at the shipping center. Please follow the instructions here ». And then the script is known: clicks, transfer of personal data, in the worst cases of bank data, the trouble is done. According to the numbers that Open can spread exclusively, in the latest two months they arrived at the Postal Police exactly 2,227 complaints for scams of this type. A growing number, given that e-commerce has become within everyone’s reach and that between Black Friday and Christmas holidays our inboxes begin to be clogged with packages from any type of digital store. This was confirmed by Riccardo Croce, Deputy Chief of the Postal Police: «The scam of the parcel in storage is back. It belongs to the macro category of phishing, the type of scams that aim to take personal data. During the year the techniques may change, in this period using the parcel excuse seems to be quite effective ».
The method by which these frauds are organized is the same used by specialized investors in the start-up market: spread and pray, scatter and pray. They are chosen thousands of targets and even if only the 5 percent of the victims, the operation was nevertheless successful. «Scams of this kind – continues Croce – can be targeted or massive. Usually the targeted ones are aimed at large companies: you study the profile of the company, look for the weak points of its security systems and understand how to act. Massive ones, on the other hand, concern everyone ». In most cases, the link that arrives with the text message lands on a clone site that simulates and remembers the e-commerce site from which the message seems to come. Here a form is presented, where the customer is asked to enter data. From this point on, it all depends on the gravity of the deception: in some cases only personal data are requested, in others, current account data is also obtained.
Three tips to defend yourself: grammar, answers and service verification
–
The first move to understand if the message is real or not is to check how it is written. Often, in fact, it is the basic grammar that betrays the scam because the text messages are put together in a somewhat coarse way. Still regarding the text, it is possible to copy it directly to a search engine and understand if the same message has also reached other users. Trying to check with the sender, on the other hand, may not be so easy: often, in fact, the numbers from which the messages are sent are false and are changed frequently. A technique that also prevents spam filters from immediately understanding the threat. In addition to all this, in the most sophisticated scams, the message can appear at the end of an authoritative conversation already present on our smartphone. This technique is mainly used for bank fraud.
The second piece of advice to preserve the integrity of your current account is to not interact with the message for any reason. If you start to have some suspicions, don’t even try to open the link and above all don’t try to answer. To explain this passage is Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union: «You must never click on the link. Sometimes, in addition to having to enter our personal data, we are also asked to make a first payment. This is usually a very low figure, no more than 2 euro, and then we find ourselves somehow with a monthly subscription of 80 euro. And users often notice it months later ». And this is also true for those who think that irony is always the most effective weapon: «Sometimes – explains Dona – users respond with insults or sarcastic jokes. Here, there is nothing more wrong. In fact, the scam message is used to find out if the number is active or not “.
The third rule to follow in case of doubt is to contact directly the company from which the message came. Often the names they rely on are those of well-known brands. Among the messages that have reached those who are writing this article, one, for example, puts in the title BRT, the company still known by the old name of Bartolini, which often deals with delivering packages. Being aware of this type of scam many companies also have dedicated numbers to do this type of checks.
The vishing, when a person’s voice steals the data
In the wide glossary of terms born from the digital world, one of those related to online scams is vishing, vocal phishing. Here, too, technology helps: thanks to systems that are not too complex to use, it is possible to mask or change the telephone number from which you are calling. In this way it will be a natural person to request the personal data necessary to complete the scam. Once again, Riccardo Croce explains it: «Vhishing is often used for the last steps of the scam. Let’s take an example: first a message is sent from a bank explaining that there is a problem with the account. At this point the user is already in a state of agitation. He enters the clone site, puts in his data and at that point he is told to call a number to get the latest information, for example the temporary codes generated by some banks ». And it is precisely with the call that the final part of the scam takes place: «At this point an interlocutor asks the user to dictate the temporary code. From here the game is done: a bank transfer is enough to empty the account ».
Not just phishing, how to protect yourself from wild telemarketing
There are also many pitfalls hidden among telemarketing calls. Often operators are not completely transparent in communicating the name of the company they work for. Other times, however, it is real fraud. In recent times, for example, it is all the rage to offer online trading, with which you risk putting your money on an unauthorized account. So how to defend yourself from wild telemarketing? Also for this there are apps, which identify the origin of unknown numbers, indicating the percentage of users who have reported that number. Alternatively you can enter the number on the Agcom portal – the Communications Authority – to see if that number actually corresponds to a registered call center.
If you want to cut the problem cleanly, however, you can send a Pec to the company that continues to call, to request the cancellation of our personal data. Or you can sign up for Register of Oppositions, a free service that allows you to report harassing phone calls. «Unfortunately – comments Dona – this service is only available for fixed numbers. For this theConsumers Union has proposed a petition, which can be signed on our site, to extend the right to mobile phones as well. ” What if, on the other hand, the telephone offer interests us? “In this case you have to ask for an email specifying all the terms of the proposal, to make sure it is not a scam.”
Cover photo: Computer photo created by master1305 – www.freepik.com
–
Read also:
–
