By Andrea Hargraves 
Have you heard about plagiarism? This is a scam that has been very active even though it is not new. It can arrive via a phone call, SMS or email and is almost impossible to detect. Carlos Cabiro, director of PJ’s National Cybercrime and Technological Crime Unit, leaves the alert in an interview with CNN Portugal
a plagiarism It is not a new phenomenon and at the end of 2022 it has grown exponentially. But even though the numbers are more stable, cases are still showing up in droves. “We will probably have hundreds of cases,” admitted Carlos Cabreiro, director of the National Unit for Combating Cybercrime and Technological Crime of the Judicial Police, in an interview with CNN Portugal. the term plagiarism “It is used for prank phone calls,” he explains. But it also includes SMS and emails. The formula is simple: they use the official phone numbers of the entities.
Let’s look at some examples. You have your bank number saved on your mobile phone and when you call it shows your bank name. Few will not be trusted. But criminals “through computer technologies” can show this number, even when calling from another phone. Even if you don’t have the number saved, the number you see on the screen is the “official number”. A good scammer will ask you to confirm online that he is calling from the real number.
There are hundreds of cases, even if it is impossible to reach an exact number.
Fake phone calls are phone calls that people receive, supposedly from trusted entities, but are actually false. Criminals use numbers through computer technologies and make them believe, for example, that they are talking about a banking entity. It can also be a state entity. These fake phone calls only want the person to sign up for a specific service or go to a specific website, click on a link, so that the criminals can effectively achieve their intentions,” explains Carlos Caprio.
By “snooping on computers” they achieve, for example, “the ability to access our banking systems with valid credentials, for example, Internet banking”. “People end up giving data, thinking they are talking to a trusted entity,” he asserts.
It is “not normal” for banks to “make these contacts”
What should someone do when they receive a call like this? The first reaction that we must have when we deal with entities that want, for example, access to our banking activity, is confirmation. Ask the interlocutor questions: if he is already an employee, in what department does he work, why is he calling him at that moment.
Therefore, nothing is better than hanging up and calling back the official number. “When you call back the real number, you’ll verify it wasn’t that person talking.”
In addition to being able to show the real number of an entity on the phone, criminals can also send SMS. A message is received on mobile phones, in which the sender has the name of the entity being impersonated.
“Another facet of this phenomenon has to do with email addresses. People also receive emails, for example, they think they are receiving email from a banking entity, when in fact it is not a banking entity, even though the name or email address appears to be real, ”warns the director of the National Unit for Combating Cybercrime and Technological Crime.
Whether it is by phone, SMS or email, it is best to call and confirm what you are being told or requested. “It’s a very appropriate security measure to prevent you from becoming a victim of fraud. These entities, we’re talking about banking entities, for example, don’t make this kind of phone call to customers. They don’t ask to go to certain sites, they don’t ask to access an email, they don’t ask link access. What you should never do is click on links or give personal access data. “No. Never. They become suspicious and say, ‘I will, but I’m the one calling that service number.'”
“The motive for the crime is heritage”
Carlos Cabiro adds that sometimes, scammers use an intimidating tone, but one must “not give up”.
Without fear, the Chief of the Judicial Police admits that it is the banking entities that suffer the most from these frauds. If we believe that the intent and motive to commit a crime is the heritage, then naturally this is where criminals come into play. Because what they really want is to have the credentials and eventually the names that will allow them to access, for example, internet banking.”
It is difficult to reach these criminals. Even if they are Portuguese making the calls and they may or may not be in the country. They may be Portuguese, but these impersonation schemes, which is the technical term used, may mean that the communication is not completely transparent. What do I mean by this? A communicates with B through the X operator. But this communication does not always follow the same Route. The connections can go to a foreign agent. The connection can go through one or two operators. Which definitely makes it difficult later Trace tracking This call”, presumably.
That is why preventing this type of fraud involves prevention, the way the victims act, but also the cooperation between the entities. “There is a need for everyone to cooperate effectively. Banking entities in particular have taken some measures in this regard. The two-factor authentication they require from people. It is not only a security measure but also a deterrent to criminals.” Ultimately, it will even be possible to apply “to other authentication factors” that “allow, in the end, to overcome this capacity that crime, sometimes even organized crime, has to engage in this type of business”.
Targeted actress attempted scam
Despite a peak in cases at the end of 2022, attempts continue to occur. In May, for example, actress Benedita Pereira posted a video on Instagram in which she stated that she was the victim of an attempted scam by someone impersonating an MBWay/SIBS employee. The call he received was from the “official number”.
In the video, the artist presents what was said to her and what was asked about her. He even says he searched online if the number he was calling was real and concluded that it was. But at some point, the scammer’s requests seemed strange and he chose to hang up and contact the company. He soon realizes that this was a ruse, which he narrowly escaped.
In the message, he wrote: “Alert‼️ Scam Phone Calls 🚨 Phishing‼ Share with family and friends. Apparently credible phone calls from the official MBWAY/SIBS number. Do not give your details to anyone, hang up and call your bank or even that SIBS number. If they ask you to access mbway-desbloqueio.com, you already know it’s a scam!”
Also page Twitter condemns fraud Received many alerts of this kind. Like, for example, this one involving TAP Airlines:
“The email looks legitimate, the link looks legitimate, but the page this link leads to has nothing to do with TAP,” the post reads.
🚨 repented 🚨
It’s time for scammers to use a photo @employee to steal from you.
The email looks legitimate, the link looks legitimate, but the page the link leads to has nothing to do with TAP.
If you receive an email like this, please report it. pic.twitter.com/7PLRkZ83Zx
– Scam Report 🇵🇹❤️🩹 (DenunciaBurlas) July 6, 2023
Steps recommended by the judicial police
– Always ask for the name of the service and the service department where the caller claims to work. Then hang up and call the entity to confirm that it is correct;
– not to take any required action over the phone, on the grounds that it is very urgent;
Do not allow yourself to be affected by the tone of threat or warning that the interlocutor may use;
Always alert family members, friends and even other people to prevent them from becoming victims.