How to defend yourself and recognize the scam

The Ministry of Health has issued a notice regarding a scam attempt in progress based on Electronic healthcare file (ESF), a precious digital tool that collects the whole clinical history Of the patient: reports, recipes, prescriptions, vaccinations, hospitalizations and much more. In simple terms, the scam is based on the sending of fraudulent messages street e-mail – with falsified sender, which alert the ministry itself – in which it is stated that to keep theAccess to the service Personal and bank data must be entered. The link contained in the email refers to one web page with a classic form to be completed, used by criminals To subtract sensitive information and financial data. The Ministry’s recommendation is Chiara: “Do not click on the links, do not provide personal data and immediately delete the message”.

Have come multiple reportswhich is why the Ministry has issued the alert through all social channels and the institutional site. Also i regional health services They are spreading similar communications. The Lazio Region, for example, said: “A series of reports relating to the sending of e-mails that invite citizens to fill in a form to keep the electronic health file are coming, entering their personal data. These are not official communications, but an attempt to scam. If you receive messages of this type, do not respond and do not follow the contained instructions, in particular those that provide for sending bank data”.

The reports indicate a real carpet campaign by the cybercriminalwhich are taking advantage of a particularly delicate period from the health point of view. The high temperatures recorded in the last few days have caused an increase in access to emergency room, especially by elderly people And fragile peopleaffected by heat strokes, dehydration and problems related to the intake of drugs. At such a critical moment, risk losing access to the electronic health file – through which you receive reports and recipes – can enrich a large number of citizens. Not only those less experienced in computer scams, but also people in difficulty. This is exactly what makes the scam particularly hateful.

We are faced with the classic phishing mechanism, a sort of “train“, In which criminals flood the e -mail boxes with deceptive emails to steal personal and financial data. Often the messages seem to come from credit institutions, banks, couriers, postal bodies or other reliable subjects, and invite you to access alleged service problems. Sometimes they contain infected attachments which install viruses and malware able to record digital activity. THE KeyloggerFor example, they trace what is typed on websites and send user and password to the criminals.

In this case, scammers exploit the sensitivity linked to health, hoping to deceive people worried about losing access to vital medical data. In recent days, the Lombardy Region has reported a similar attempt connected to the ASL: a Sms Deceptive, he invited to call a number, connected to extremely expensive paid telephone services.
In the specific case of the ESF, the emails and the Form website seem institutional and credible; often the links refer to Clone sitesvery similar to the originals. However, paying attention to the sender and theUrl (the address of the site), it is possible to note altered names, letters replaced by numbers and others suspicious details. The texts can also contain grammatical errors or be written ambiguously.

Despite this, it is not always easy to identify a malicious message, especially for those who do not have much confidence with digital services. Being scrupulous and suspicious, especially in the presence of requests related to sensitive data, is essential in order not to fall into the phishing network. At this link you will find some precious tips to protect yourself from these and other similar crimes.