Cases of scams carried out by cybercriminals are the order of the day. If it has happened before with popular applications and places such as WhatsApp, Correos or the National Police itself, now It’s the turn of another of the most popular platforms: Bizum.
We explain what this new fraud consists of and how it can compromise your data and your money.
The new scam in the name of Bizum
New technologies have brought a lot of convenience to the daily lives of users. Currently you can carry out all kinds of procedures only with the help of your mobile phone, such as easily transferring money from one account to another, something that many people do through Bizum. But, as it could not be otherwise, The well-known platform has also aroused the interest of criminals.
This is a new case of textbook phishing. Or what amounts to the same thing without resorting to anglicisms: a full-fledged fraudulent usurpation of identity. The scammers pose as a platform usually recognized by victims, in this case Bizum, with the aim of being able to deceive them more easily.
As has been reported on social networks, the message (which is received through a traditional SMS) alert of the need to activate an account to continue using banking services, and is also accompanied by a deadline. As usually happens in these cases, there is also a link that leads to the supposed site where the operation can be carried out.
What makes these scams difficult to detect is precisely that: said link leads to fraudulent portals that impersonate different banks, so they look quite official and credible. Once there, they urge the user to re-enter their personal data, with the consequent risk that this entails.
A textbook deception
The vast majority of scams that occur through SMS messages or mobile phones have a clear purpose: to steal from you. And for this They are mainly looking for two things: your personal information and your banking details. Once cybercriminals have them, they can easily operate on your behalf. Sometimes, furthermore, the information itself is already an achievement for them: it is worth money.
The best way to avoid it is always the same: be wary of any type of message, whether it arrives by SMS, WhatsApp, email or whatever that invites you to enter an unknown link. This in itself is not dangerous, but it is if you fall for their trick and provide the data they usually ask for. In case of doubt, It is better that you be the one to contact whatever entity it is.
In fact, platforms such as Bizum themselves always ask their clients to report this type of identity theft, and to notify the National Police, so that they in turn are able not only to pursue the criminals, but also to Warn as many people as possible about it.
