In recent months there has been a lot of talk about IT-Alert, the new system for managing public alerts promoted by the State to inform all citizens in real time about serious and imminent alarms of any kind.
We have also seen how to deactivate IT-Alert on iPhone and Android, as well as we have seen in detail how it works. Now let’s talk about one fraud emerged online precisely by exploiting the wave of popularity of IT-Alert.
In fact, it seems that it is circulating on social media and online false belief that is available an IT-Alert app. It is not clear what such an app would be able to do, but we can certainly expect that in reality it will do some things malware or in any case of an app that has opaque purposes towards your privacy and security.
The official website of IT-Alert has called everyone’s attention precisely in relation to this matter, specifying the following:
Unfortunately, messages are being spread on many mobile phones through social media and the internet which, using the name of IT-alert, invite citizens to download apps with the false promise of receiving, through that application, updates on calamitous events in act. In reality, the goal is to fraudulently acquire sensitive data and information from those who install it.
In this regard, the Department of Civil Protection once again invites maximum attention, recalling that the only official website is www.it-alert.gov.it, that there is no IT-alert App and that any application reproducing the wording is certainly malicious and potentially harmful.
It-alert is currently continuing its experimentation and will be active from 2024, only once this phase has been successfully completed. As also mentioned during recent tests, to receive messages on your mobile phones it is not necessary to download any App or activate any service.
So, no app exists and will never exist official for IT-Alert.
Notifications from the service are active by default on Android and iPhone, with the possibility of deactivating it manually. So not installed any app for IT-Alert is absolutely not necessary.
