The cybercrime increased in Spain 25.5% last year, according to the crime balance for the year 2023 published by the Home Office in March. Of the 2,459,659 criminal offenses committed, one 19.2%470,388, are cybercrimes. And of that almost half a million, 90% are cyber scams. Crimes that are initiated by contact with the victim by email, SMS or phone call, among other means. Regarding this reality, the Spanish fiber and mobile provider Finetworknext to IO Researchhas carried out a survey to better understand the scope of cyber scams that are carried out over the telephone and collects what it claims are the 5 most frequent scams in Spain.
The figures, as the sustained growth of cybercrime in Spain suggests, are not good. A 35% of users have been victims of phone phishingalso known as vishing; a 35.52% have received SMS with fraudulent links; a 28.08% have received fraud attempts through WhatsApp; and a 30.63% claims to have been contacted by telephone robots to try to sell them something.
The 5 most frequent telephone scams
- The non-existent Post Office package: involves the Post Office and usually involves sending an SMS or email indicating that the courier service has had problems with the delivery of a package due to lack of personal data or a customs fee. The messages are accompanied by a link that, when entered, pretends to be the official Correos page and indicates the status of the supposed delivery. What is sought is to obtain the victim’s personal and banking information.
- The phantom fine of the DGT: It is done under the name of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT). Through an SMS or an email signed by the state agency, it is indicated that there is an alleged fine pending payment that may grow or go to court if it is not paid urgently. As with the Correos scam, the messages include a link that takes victims to a fake page with the DGT logo and requests sensitive information, including bank and credit or debit card information.
- Bank call fraud: a false operator poses as an agent of the victim’s bank to warn of some type of incident in the account and to be able to obtain sensitive data, including security codes, passwords, PIN numbers, confirmation codes or electronic signature.
- The fictitious job offer: Fake human resources departments that contact victims posing as well-known companies. Scammers send messages or make calls to users who have registered for job offers on the platform, pretending to be representatives of the company, and offering supposed interviews or immediate hiring.
- Fake telephone operators: Criminals use vishing techniques to impersonate mobile or landline telephone company operators. Through a call, they inform victims of technical problems or improvements in their service, with the intention of obtaining their personal or banking information. In many cases, these calls pretend to come from highly recognized companies.
What you can do to prevent phone scams
Common sense is the best ally to avoid falling into these deceptions, but you have to pay attention to the details. Finetwork makes these recommendations:
- Do not access suspicious links. Always go to the company’s official website and corroborate the information that has come to you from there, but without using the link received in an SMS or email.
- When entering any website, it is important check that the URL is correct and official.
- If you have any suspicion about what they are telling us, it is recommended contact the entity directlyespecially in the case of bank, Post Office or DGT scams.
‘The fight against telephone fraud is a priority for us. It is essential that users are informed and alert to any impersonation attempts. At Finetwork, we are committed to working together with public and private institutions to stop this type of crime and protect our clients,’ said Óscar Vilda, CEO of Finetwork, on the occasion of the publication of the survey.