Letters to beneficiaries of benefits and pensions requesting their bank details.

A campaign involving sending letters to recipients of Social Security benefits and pensions has been detected (see previous image).

How is it done?

They request personal documents (ID card, photo of a bank statement), claiming that the victim’s details have been lost as a result of a cyberattack and that these are needed to deposit a certain amount into the pensioner’s current account, as their benefit or pension has increased.

Who is it aimed at?

The recipients are usually people who receive a pension or any other financial benefit from the Social Security system.

Why?

So the perpetrators are able to obtain documentation relating to the beneficiaries, enabling them to carry out fraudulent transactions on bank accounts or with other organisations.

What do we recommend?

Social Security will never ask you to send information or documents to an email address, so be wary of such requests.

How can you tell if they are fraudulent?

They often contain spelling mistakes, unfinished or poorly worded sentences, very tight deadlines that pressure you into acting hastily, etc. In this case, moreover, it can be seen that, whilst the logo is that of the Social Security General Treasury, the purported signature is that of the “Director-General of the INSS”.

Recommendations and resources

If in doubt, call the official Social Security telephone numbers to check whether the communication is genuine or not. Further information is also available on the website of the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE).