Bank of Portugal (BdP) is warning of fraud attempts through SMS messages, advertising on social platforms and/or phone calls, as pyramid schemes may be involved, the bank said on Tuesday.
In these approaches, people are encouraged to join chat groups to earn extra income through a job offer, high-yield investment, or favorable credit terms.
“Hello, I’m from the HR department of a social network/ABC company. We urgently need 30 part-time “online” employees. Daily delivery 50-500 euros. / We offer part-time work for 300 people. 800 euros per day. Contact us at wa.me/351xxxxxxxxx. [link do grupo]”, is an example of attempted fraud, which can be read about in the statement.
After clicking on the “link”, a person is linked to a “working” group (in WhatsApp or Telegram), and he may also be asked for a registration fee with the promise that it will be returned to him plus a commission after “completing the first task.”
The promised reward is related to the tasks of watching videos on social platforms (Youtube, TikTok, Spotify, etc.) and liking or commenting on them.
After “completing the requested tasks” that will correspond to the estimated monetary value, an investment offer may follow that cannot be missed (for example, in “cryptocurrencies”).
It is also common to receive messages on social networks promising an immediate and easy loan, in which case people are asked to pay an initial fee, and after making this payment, the person who made the contact disappears before they can respond to the Messages.
Banco de Portugal calls attention to this type of fraud, “in which criminals intend to use your payment account as a “mule account”, that is, as an account for the transfer of amounts obtained fraudulently: they credit your account, manipulating you in such a way that could later transfer these amounts to another account.”
“Never click on “links” present in messages received from strangers or open dubious messages. Do not join “chat” groups of unknown origin. Do not make payments or install any programs or applications at the request of third parties in order to obtain easy income. It is highly likely that any of the situations described are fraudulent,” the BJP statement said.
If you have any doubts or suspicions, please contact your bank immediately by normal means.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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