Police trying to uncover scam origin as more than 200 defrauded in two months
Police are trying to uncover the origin of a web of scam text messages and e-mails being sent to personal mobile numbers and e-mail addresses. Since April, over 200 people have been defrauded of over €150,000 between them after falling victim to SMS and e-mail scams, according to sergeant Rudy Karl Buttigieg from the Cyber Crime Unit. Working with their international counterparts, as well as private entities, police were looking into the way scammers are obtaining personal information. Currently, the scamming is coming mainly through postal operators and bank notifications. Where it comes to postal operators scams, victims receive an SMS or e-mail with the company’s logo (like DHL or MaltaPost) informing them they have received a package. This is happening on an international scale. They are given instructions to press on a link and pay an administrative fee for the package to be delivered. Once victims press the link, they are taken to a fake site where they are asked to input their credit card details. In certain cases, they are also asked for a password. While victims think they are authorising the debit of a small amount – such as €1.60 – fraudsters use their details to...