The Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia has warned of the circulation of fraudulent emails that impersonate the identity of Hacienda and seek to deceive users with the promise of an alleged tax refund.
The deception relies on messages that invite to complete a fake form. The objective is to get hold of personal and banking data, a common practice in phishing campaigns that intensify in periods of high administrative activity such as the income tax campaign.
Emails that simulate official procedures
The warning focuses on links included in those emails that redirect to pages external to the official domains of the administration. They do not lead to legitimate addresses such as .gob.es or .gencat.cat, a clear indication that it is an impersonation.
This type of message tries to generate urgency or trust in the recipient so that they provide sensitive information. In this case, the hook is an alleged tax refund, a recurring formula in digital frauds linked to public bodies.
Increase of attempts during the income campaign
Phishing attempts that impersonate official entities have increased in recent months, coinciding with the income tax campaign. The alert comes at a time when many people expect communications related to tax procedures, which increases the risk of falling into fraud.
The information has been provided by Mossos d'Esquadra, within the framework of the usual warnings against online frauds that seek to take advantage of massive procedures and apparently institutional messages to capture victims.
The basic recommendation involves not accessing links included in suspicious emails and always checking that the web address belongs to an official domain before entering any personal or banking data.