Traffic fines, many are issued at the end of the year. In 2022 were a total of 5,542,718 sanctions imposed by the General direction of traffic in Spain, the most common reason being excessive speed. This implies that the vast majority of drivers have received one at some point, a fact that cybercriminals take advantage of in their scams to try to obtain the personal and banking information of the victims they manage to deceive. Of a new SMS campaign impersonating the DGT The organism used as bait on this occasion has recently alerted.
This is a campaign smishing. That is, identity theft (phishing) in which contact with potential victims It is done through an SMS. The DGT has provided some details about this “new wave of fraudulent SMS”. In the SMS reported by the DGT, the recipient is told that “You have 24 hours to pay your fine”, the date of the alleged infringement and a URL that leads to a website that impersonates that of the DGT by imitating its appearance.
It is on this website that the victim must enter their bank details to theoretically pay the fine, but whose purpose is to steal your information. The DGT also points out that does not notify drivers of sanctions by SMS or emailanother means commonly used in phishing scams, but these are carried out “through postal mail and the Road Electronic Address”. The latter is the electronic mailbox in which any citizen can register to receive communications and notifications from the DGT.
⚠️New wave of fraudulent SMS that impersonate the #DGT requesting payment of an alleged penalty to capture user banking data. 👉#DGT does not notify sanctions via SMS or email, only through postal mail and the Road Electronic Address #DEV. pic.twitter.com/sU3GqVernH
— General Traffic Director (@DGTes) April 15, 2024
Other means that citizens have to find out if they have been fined for their driving are the system TESTRA and the mobile application MyDGT. TESTRA is the edictal board of sanctions that can be consulted at the DGT Electronic Headquarters. The MiDGT application also has the advantage that it allows you to pay the fine from your phone and also carry the necessary documentation virtually. Both the driving license and the vehicle technical data sheet and the driving license.
If they have fallen victim to this scam, affected people should contact their bank, save the evidence they have of the deception and report it to the State Security Forces and Bodies.