technology
Privacy and security
Caution, fraud: "I was charged NIS 15,000"
A resident of the center fell victim to a sting impersonating the electricity company in an SMS message: "You must settle the debt in your account," the message read.
Security experts recommend: "Visit the service website proactively, and check if there is such a request"
Tags
Electric Company
fraud
Yinon Ben Shoshan
Sunday, 18 July 2021, 14:44 Updated: 15:24
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(Photo: ShutterStock)
Did you receive an SMS from the electricity company with a request to "settle the debt in their account"? You should be careful:
A., a resident of the center of the country, received the threatening message - hurried to pay, and was charged with the credit card for NIS 15,000 from an unknown source.
This is a scam from which IEC alerted already last week, when the malicious link attached in the SMS leads to a site identical to the official IEC official website, where customers are asked to provide an ID number and credit card details.
"On Saturday, I received the message that I had to settle a debt," A. says in a conversation with Walla! technology. "I clicked on the link to pay, filled in all the personal details including a credit card number, and after I paid I remembered that I had a standing order for the electricity bill."
This morning (Sunday), A. turned to the IEC to find out if it really was a debt she was required to pay, and in a conversation with customer service, she learned that the message she received was a known fraud.
Then, when she checked the credit card - she found that she was charged an astronomical amount.
"I saw charges of NIS 15,000 and called the credit company to block the card."
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Impersonating the Electric Company (Photo: Screenshot)
The electricity company warned
As stated, this is a well-known fraudulent method, and not in the context of the IEC, which is intended to deplete your details for fraudulent purposes. The IEC last week issued a request to its customers to pay attention to those text messages, after many reports were received on the subject.
"For several months now, the IEC has been receiving alerts from customers who report fraud attempts that include receiving a demand, via e-mail or mobile message, to update details, while threatening to suspend an account if they are not answered immediately," the IEC said.
"The IEC reiterates that text messages on behalf of the IEC contain the customer's contract number, and the only current link is the IEC's official website. It should not be referred to or replied to," they stressed.
The information security company ESET recommends: "If you received an email asking you to update details or make a specific payment, do not do so via email. Enter the service website in question proactively, and check if there is such a request. If you clicked and even entered the credit information, it is advisable "In control of the credit charges and, if necessary, contact the credit company in order to cancel charges that you have not made."
Nadav Avital, head of the research group at Imperva, explains that "an investigation we conducted found that the latest phishing messages to IEC customers were sent by an attacker who operated several sites in recent months that most likely impersonate various Israeli infrastructure providers such as IEC, Hot, Bezeq "
Did a similar case happen to you?
Contact the reporter via his Instagram page
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