The State Public Employment Service (SEPE) is an institution dependent on the Ministry of Employment, which offers its support to those citizens who aspire to find work. Now it has issued an urgent notice to Spanish users, warning of a new wave of scams that impersonate the identity of the public body to steal banking and personal data (using the technique known as phishing) to people who are currently looking for a job.
The scam in question begins when potential victims apply for job offers on the popular job portal Infojobs. Once they have submitted to them, they receive a message that appears to be from the contracting company, in which they attach a supposed SEPE form (with their corresponding ‘official’ logos)…
…with the aim that fill it out with your personal and banking informationwhich will end up in the hands of those responsible for publishing the false job offer.
Recently, the Police put the number of victims of this scam at 1,500
The SEPE thus acts as an involuntary bait, since it supposedly justifies the company requesting a series of data that does not have to be requested. In fact, the SEPE notice, in which job seekers are advised to be cautious with this type of e-mail, makes two things very clear:
- The job seeker must refuse, if you have not yet signed the employment contract, to provide information such as bank details or ID number.
- The SEPE emphasizes that it will never request personal information without prior permission or outside of its official channels.
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How to react
The SEPE advises users to be attentive to the following signs of fraud:
- Spelling mistakes and inappropriate language in messages.
- The request for banking information before signing a contract.
- The request for copies of the DNI, NIE, passport or driving license without having completed the selection process and signed a contract.
People who have been victims of this scam or any other online fraud can obtain technical, legal or social advice by calling the number 017 for free, a service provided by the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), available 365 days a year. .
Via | Europa Press
Image | Dirk Wouters on Pixabay
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