Maria Pombo was scammed online and almost lost all her money: how to prevent the same thing from happening to you

Maria Pombo became a victim of one of the most common scams in Spain: false DGT SMS. The influencer shared her experience on social media, claiming that she almost lost all her money because she received a false message. just when I was waiting for a fine from the General Directorate of Traffic.

The influencer claims she received a text shortly after putting her children to bed, informing her of an impending traffic fine. Without thinking twice, he followed a link that redirected him to a page with information about the alleged fine, the size of which was not too large: 47.45 euros.

Maria Pombo entered all her bank card details on a website that pretended to be the DGT fine payment portal. “I provide my card number, security number, expiration date, and then pay.” He claims he then entered his bank’s app to verify the movement. He saw this one, but another one immediately followed, in larger numbers.and then several movements that did not correspond to the purchases he had previously made. It is noteworthy that he kept canceling these cats. “I thought they were already in my account and were going to take everything from me.”

Immediately, The influencer blocked all her cards and after several attempts he managed to contact his bank by phone to explain the situation. The agent informed him that by canceling them, the attackers would not be able to carry out further actions, so he was in no danger.

How to prevent the same thing that happens to Maria Pombo so that the same thing that happens to Maria Pombo does not happen to you

This type of message is actually fraud smiling. It consists of attackers posing as companies or organizations that send text messages in order to obtain personal information from users, such as usernames and passwords, or, in the case of Maria Pombo, their bank or card details in order to steal money. In most cases, the messages alert you to a small payment that may end up being higher if you don’t make it. Also about parcels that did not arrive due to non-payment of duties, etc.

The user who receives this message may be subject to a fine.or a package, and fall for the bait. However, there are a number of guidelines you can follow to check whether the message is real or a scam.

In case message from DGT received by Maria PomboIt’s best to check the link the page sends us to. If it’s a strange address, no matter how much its interface resembles the General Traffic Directorate, it’s best to take a grain of salt and turn to official channels to check whether there really is a fine pending payment. Additionally, it is advisable to block the sender and delete the message.