Alarm to fraud with phishing method and sender Gov.gr – What to pay attention to citizens

The alarm for sending misleading press messages to email users with gov.gr, hits the Ministry of Digital Governance. In a statement the ministry says that in recent times there have been reports of fraud, with the experts sending false messages (phishing) to citizens, who simulate a request from the Single Digital Portal of the State, gov.gr, and who call on them to visit a specific link (link) to access their “claimy benefits”. The National Cybersecurity Authority of the Ministry of Digital Governance reminds useful instructions to enhance the security and privacy of citizens. Phishing is an action to deceive Internet users, in which the sender plays a reliable entity, organisation or person who calls on the recipient of the message to follow the instructions given to him. These instructions may require the recipient to follow an electronic link (link) or even provide his data such as sensitive private data, codes, identity or passport data, bank account, bank card and others” is stated in the notice. In this context, the National Cybersecurity Authority of the Ministry of Digital Governance calls on citizens to be particularly careful, “as truthful as the sender or even the messages they receive, so that they do not fall victim to this manner-acting expertry.” Useful tips Follow some practical advice to protect against attacks of this type (PHishing attacks): – You should never give personal information (e.g. Taxis, e-Banking codes, card numbers/PINs, passwords, user name) to alleged ombudsmen, legal offices, accountants, or other expert for alleged service (e.g. on state subsidies, Power/Fuel/Tourism for all or other cases such as room rental etc.). – You should access through the official website of the institution, the organisation or the bank or through the application on your mobile (app) and not through links from a message or email received, search engines or other websites. – If you received a suspicious email, before acting you should contact your partners or the alleged sender to check its authenticity. – You should carefully check the address of the sender. Phishing-type messages often have sender addresses that are not related to the person who supposedly sends them. – You should consider the type of information requested. Even if the message you received seems authentic, it is unlikely that an entity, bank or company will contact you by email to request personal information, bank or credit card information, or other personal or sensitive data. – You should be cautious if the message creates a sense of urgency. Attackers often try to exert pressure using this tactic. – You should also be cautious with tax returns or benefits. – A thorough grammar and spelling check is effective as typographical errors and poor grammar are often characteristic of phishing-type messages. – There are several solutions to security and address malicious software (antispamming) that include functions to identify and reject malicious messages.