Many users report having received a message from the Post Office where they are invited to change the access data to their account to rehabilitate their credit card
New phishing danger for Banco Posta users: hackers are sending in these days emails to succeed in obtaining the access data of the online current account. The alarm has been given by the Postal Police through its Facebook profile "Commissariato di PS Online - Italia": many users have reported to have received from an email address that seems to be the one of the Post Office, a message inviting them to change the access credentials of the online account in order to rehabilitate the credit card.
Nothing of what is written inside the email message is true, it is only a scam devised by hackers. The technique used is called "phishing" in computer jargon, which is a type of scam that tries to extort from users their access data to online banking accounts or other types of services by using email addresses similar to the original ones. Even the logos used within the email are the original ones to make the message look as realistic as possible.
How to recognize the scam
The text of the email is written in almost perfect Italian, which is quite unusual for a phishing attempt. The message reads: "Your card issued by Poste Italiane has been restricted as we have not received any response to our request to verify your online profile. To resolve this issue immediately and to rehabilitate the use of your card, please update your online data immediately, otherwise, your card will be temporarily blocked for tax assessments." The message could easily fool those who have little experience with the world of IT, as the text of the message is quite plausible. But all it takes is a little bit of attention to realize that this is a scam. Let's start with the recipient's email address: BancoPosta S.p.A. Doing a quick search on the Net, it turns out that BancoPosta is one of the services offered by Poste Italiane and in the case of important communications, the email address should be that of the Post Office. Moreover, for communications of this type, the Post Office (and any other company) does not use an e-mail message, but more official tools.
How to prevent phishing attacks
Usually inside phishing e-mails there is a link you have to open to change the access data of an online service. Don't. Usually the link takes you to a page created by scammers to steal your credentials and get into your online bank account.