The Guardia Civil have sent out a warning about the rise in scams through the Bizum app. The app, launched in 2016, allows users to conduct person-to-person payments via their smartphones.
A warning has been put out by the Guardia Civil for Bizum users to exercise caution when using the app as a method of payment when selling something online.
The cybercriminals will contact the user, pretending to be interested in buying the product being sold and then a transaction is made. Something that is catching Bizum users off-guard is that instead of sending the money, the cybercriminals actually send a money request of the amount agreed. This notification, if not studying carefully, can lead to the seller giving the money to the supposed buyer.
It will be no surprise to you that the “buyer” then disappears with the sellers money.
The Guardia Civil have reminded Bizum users that the app will never ask you to accept incoming money, only when an amount of money has been requested from the user.
To avoid scams in the future it is important to follow these basic tips:
- Follow your gut instinct, if it seems unusual then it probably is.
- Don’t hand out personal information such as ID, full name, email address, telephone number or home address.
- If you think that the user is only there to scam other users, report them on the platform.
- Do not click on any links sent by random users, as 99% of the time it will be malicious.
If you have been a victim of a scam, make sure to contact your bank and report the scam.
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