A site dedicated to the Citizenship Income has collected over 500,000 registrations, but it is only a prank carried out by a company in Naples
The Citizenship Income is one of the electoral promises carried out by the 5 Stelle Movement in recent years and that allowed the political party to win the last political elections. With the financial maneuver being approved in Parliament, the Citizenship Income should start from the first months of 2019 and guarantee an economic support of 780 euros per month to those who are out of work.
The economic measure has created a lot of debate on the Net and some people have thought well to take advantage of the moment to create the site https://www.redditodicittadinanza2018.it/. Although the design of the site is identical to that of the INPS (National Social Security Institute), the portal was actually created by Ars digitalia, a communications agency specializing in the creation of web applications. As explained by the same agency on its website, it is a satirical initiative regarding Citizenship Income. Although it takes only a few minutes to understand that it is a joke, so far there have been more than 500,000 people who since March 2018 have released their data waiting to receive the Citizenship Income.
What's on the site of the Citizenship Income 2018-2019
As said, the site resembles in all respects that of INPS. But if you pay attention to the details you immediately realize that there is something wrong.
The logo shows the words IMPS (Istituto Mondiale Provvidenza Solare), while at the bottom is written "The site has been developed for entertainment purposes". This should already make it clear that this is a boutade, a simple publicity stunt. But in just under 9 months, there have been over 500,000 people who have left their personal data, in the hope of receiving the 2018-2019 Citizenship Income. Convincing users that it was a government initiative was the institutional layout and an infographic that easily explains how to apply for the Citizenship Income: 780 euros for singles and up to 1638 euros for families in need.
Fake IMPS site for Citizenship Income 2018, beware of your personal data
The fake site about Citizenship Income highlights how easy it is to get personal data from users. It is not necessary to concoct any big scam, but simply a little inventiveness is enough. The same guys from Ars digitalia underline this in the article published on their website: before sending data to any site, it is necessary to be sure that it is a safe portal. It is not enough that there is a green padlock, but it is necessary to inform oneself carefully. It takes very little to disclose sensitive data and become an easy target for hackers. This experience teaches us once again how important it is to invest in the cyber security of citizens, especially in a historical era in which smartphones and computers are within the reach of anyone.