Every year, the penultimate week of December witnesses one of the traditions in Spain most followed live by millions of people, who eagerly await the opportunity to get a good pinch, which is not bad at this time of year. On December 22, the Extraordinary Christmas Lottery Draw takes place, known as ‘El Gordo’, valued at 400,000 euros per tenth. However, organized groups of cybercriminals manage to earn as much money or more than the winners, taking advantage of the buzz that is generated around this event.
“We are talking about a lot of money and, what is even more important, the illusion of many people, and specifically, that of the older population,” says Hervé Lambert, head of global operations at the cybersecurity company Panda.
The endless waiting lines to purchase the tenths have not been an insurmountable problem for a long time, since the user who wants to can resort to the Internet for it. Something that is not unknown by cybercriminals.
“The convenience offered by the online user experience has become an opportunity to steal through the web and commit other crimes. In addition, they are very high figures of money, on dates indicated where we operate in a hurry in all types of purchases and we do not pay attention to detail in reading websites or in exhaustively verifying the purchase process. Added to that, the low digital education that society has and the disengagement of the elderly population from the Internet, are points in favor of hackers to catch their victim off guard”, concludes the cyber expert.
fake tenths webs
Organized groups of cybercriminals have designed web pages without secure addresses from which false tickets are sold. In case the user is not careful, you may end up paying for nothing. Criminals may also try to steal your banking credentials and other personal details. “In this sense, it is best to buy the tenth in licensed physical administrations, after all, there is always one nearby,” says Lambert. Another option would be to carry out the purchase process from authorized web pages.
An important detail to take into account is that when buying a tenth online, said organization must issue the corresponding receipt to the userin the same way that it would be done through a purchase in person.
Pretending to be others
From a few years ago to the present, robbery attempts have been detected through mobile messaging. There are different ways to carry it out. Between these, we find those SMS in which the sender is presented as a relative or relative who affirms that he wanted to have a detail with us and has bought us a tenth. Then he shares an unknown link for us to click on.
“You have to be completely wary of this type of message. In the first place, because we will not have the telephone number registered and, secondly, because the download may contain a malicious code that disables the operation of our device or, even, spies on our movements on the cell phone and can steal personal data and/or banks,” explains Lambert.
In other cases, the criminal poses as a lottery administration and tries to scam the victim stating that she has been the winner of a prize during the raffle. “Again, under no circumstances should you open the link provided or call the number back, as it could be collect and have a high rate,” explains the cyber expert. The only way to check if one has won something is by corroborating the number of their tenth with what is published by official organizations.
Likewise, the user must take into account that they can encounter the same dangers through WhatsApp, Facebook or the same email. The criminal resorts to any means to contact his potential victims.