The latest message purporting to come from Portugal’s Tax and Customs Authority in fact install malicious software if opened.
The government authority admits the alert has been sent out in its name inviting people to pay up now to avoid publication in the national List of Debtors, when in fact the email if acted on installs malicious software.
This is a "false and fraudulent email that should be ignored" the authority warns, but many will not hit the 'delete' button, certain that the email is genuine.
The message states that there is an ongoing procedure for updating the list of debtors on the Internet and it appears that there are processes outstanding which will ensure the recipient will soon be on the black list.
The message refers also to an amount owed, the date, and advice as to how to respond so as not to be blacklisted.
The real Tax and Customs Authority warns that should the recipient press the link or authorise any file transfers "the risk of compromising your computer is high."
The tax authority always uses your full name and NIF, which this email does not, and it suggests that taxpayers do not supply or disclose any credentials – just hit the 'delete' button.
Sadly, these phishing emails do succeed in harvesting account details from the unwary and unsophisticated. The government will not reimburse money stolen by the scammers if it can be shown that the individual was foolish enough to fall for this elementary ruse.
This type of scam is easy to spot for the computer literate but with the government putting more and more services on-line, and pushing more and more new users into an unfamiliar electronic world, scammers still will succeed in extracting money from the less adept.
