The National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe) has alerted the public today, Monday, September 27, about the existence of several groups that have been detected registered in the social network Telegram, offering to supply illegal Covid-19 vaccine certificates or negative PCR tests.

Based in Leon, the institute released a statement explaining how users who have tried to obtain said certificates have become victims of fraud after having made their payment to obtain them.

Incibe recommends that anybody who has attempted to obtain one of these illegal vaccine or negative PCR certificates via Telegram, or any other platform, should delete the conversation and block the contact they were dealing with.

In the event that personal data has already been provided to the contact offering the documents, then Incibe recommends performing a search for your name and other personal data in the search engines – egosurfing – periodically.

The cybersecurity centre also adds that if it is detected that your personal information is being used improperly, you can exercise your rights of access, rectification, opposition, and deletion of the processing of your personal data by following the guidelines provided by the Spanish Agency for Data Protection.

In the case of having made a requested payment by the cybercriminal, it is recommended to contact your bank as soon as possible, to inform them of what happened, and to remain vigilant and periodically monitor bank movements.

Those who have been a victim of this fraud are advised to collect all possible evidence – screenshots, e-mails, messages – and contact the State Security Forces (FCSE) or Incibe itself, through the Office of Internet User Safety (OSI), as reported by laopiniondemalaga.es.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to check The Euro Weekly News for all your up-to-date local and international news stories.