Eye! The AEMET SMS for DANA are an attempted scam

Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to deceive and scam users, and one of the most common practices is to create traps with current events or social relevance as a lure, which is known as “smishing.”

This is what is happening this week with a wave of fraudulent SMS that try to take advantage of the social alarm generated by DANA and the torrential rains that have devastated the east and south of the country in recent weeks.

Now that there is a new wave of torrential rains, many users are receiving SMS messages on their mobile phones supposedly sent by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) with a warning or recommendations regarding future atmospheric phenomena.

AEMET Dana SMS

However, the message warns of a “severe storm” and includes a link to download an application that would allow you to receive weather updates. In reality, you are going to a malicious link, which exposes the mobile to security risks. In fact, it does not lead to the official AEMET website.but to a fraudulent website, and downloading the file can lead to including malware on the device.

Of course, you should not click on the link or download that application. Nor should you offer personal information that may be requested or even make donations to account numbers that may appear to help victims, as they are not official means of sending donations through DANA and only serve to help cybercriminals fatten their pockets with this. scam.

AEMET itself has issued a statement to warn that it is an organization that never sends SMS alerts to users’ cell phones. As they remember, their applications should only be downloaded from official stores such as Google Play and Apple Store.

How to protect yourself from “Smishing”

According to experts from the security company Check Point Software, this type of scam is known as “Smishing.” They use social engineering techniques to take advantage of citizens’ concerns and lead them to commit actions that put their devices at risk.

In this sense, in addition to always verifying the origin of communications, experts recommend having advanced mobile device protection tools (Mobile Threat Defense, MTD) to be protected against “smishing” attacks.

These apps detect and block malicious links and apps in real time, preventing unauthorized access to devices and protecting sensitive information. It would be like a shield that protects personal data and the integrity of the mobile device, even against sophisticated threats.

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