Imagine: you check your mail, and there is a letter from your medical insurance company (poistovňa - insurance institution). It talks about an alleged overpayment that you are supposed to get back. Everything looks very official: logo, name, even the tone of the message. The only thing you need to do is click the link and authorize the refund. Sounds attractive, right? But the Slovak police warn: this is a new wave of phishing attacks aimed at stealing your personal and banking data.
How the scammers' scheme works
Scammers send emails that imitate messages from medical insurance companies (poistovňa - insurance institution). These emails say that you are entitled to a refund for overpaid insurance contributions. To get this money, you are asked to click the link in the email and enter your data to “authorize” the refund.
However, this link leads not to the official website of the insurance company (poistovňa - insurance institution), but to a fake page. The purpose of this page is to make you enter your personal data, logins, passwords, or banking details. Once you do this, scammers get access to your confidential information and can use it to steal money or commit other crimes.
Such schemes, where scammers pretend to be trusted organizations, are among the most common. They often create artificial pressure to make the victim act thoughtlessly, for example, by indicating a “limited time” to receive the refund.
What to do to protect yourself
To avoid becoming a victim of scammers, follow these rules:
