SMS fraud over court order in Paphos – woman loses €2,000
A 37-year-old woman in Paphos fell victim to a fraud scheme via SMS involving a forged €60 court order and was charged €2,000.
Forged SMS messages for court orders drained €2,000 from bank account in Paphos
According to cypruspolicenews.com, Cyprus Police are investigating a new case of electronic fraud in Paphos following a report from a 37-year-old woman who received a false text message on 22 September.
The message informed her of an allegedly unpaid court order fine of €60 relating to a traffic violation. The 37-year-old followed the link contained in the message and entered her bank card details on an unknown website in order to pay the amount.
Upon completion of the transaction, she discovered that her account had been charged €2,000 instead of €60.
The case was taken up by the Economic Crime Investigation Office of the TAE Paphos.
In light of the incident, Police reminded the public that they never communicate with citizens via SMS or any other platform for the collection of fines of any kind. The public is advised to avoid following hyperlinks from unknown sources and not to enter personal or banking details on websites of questionable origin.
To verify any messages, citizens are urged to contact the organisations involved directly through their official communication channels.
Source: Google News GR — Crime (el)