SMS have fallen into disuse for the exchange of messages but are still used to receive single-use codes from the Italian Post Office or to receive OTP codes from banks. This important security function is exploited by attackers to set off very dangerous traps for users, with phishing messages very similar to those received via email (in this case they are called smishing).
In the guide that follows we will show you what a scam message from the Italian Post Officewe will find out why it is very easy to fall into deception and what can we do to avoid the SMS scam of the Post Office or any other banking operator who uses SMS to send Security OTP.
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How to recognize a post office scam SMS
The scam message is delivered to the phone in the official chat of the Italian Post Office. If in the past we have received authentication codes we will see them appear within the app Messages a chat called Post Infowhere you can find all the disposable codes and notices on the Poste Italiane account.
The bad guys use the name of chats as a deception for users: receiving gods fake messages from Poste Info (on unofficial numbers of the Post Office) they will in any case be aggregated in the same legitimate chat as Poste.
This vulnerability of chat apps is very dangerous and exposes all inexperienced users to real risks: even with different numbers the chat will always have the same name and, together with the legitimate messages from Poste, we will also find the custom packaged spam messagewith a lot of links to click in order to unlock operations or to be able to access the account again (the warning messages change continuously).
Obviously the warnings are false and are only used to scare users: once the link is opened it shows a screen of the Italian Post Office very faithful to the original where you can enter the login credentials to continue. In this way the attackers recover the login credentials of the Poste account and, with an advanced technique such as SIM Swapthey can also obtain disposable codes and drain the postal current account or the PostePay balance.
It goes without saying that we absolutely must not click on any link in the SMS messagesLegitimate messages never contain links, especially those associated with Poste Italiane accounts or accounts for banking services. As soon as we see a link appear, we delete the message in question without thinking twice!
How to protect your smartphone from scam SMS
If the phone is entrusted to people who are not very skilled in IT and security, reading scam SMS such as that of the Post Office can trigger panic and lead to inserting the credentials in the link provided in the scam message.
To avoid this unpleasant scenario, we recommend that you install antivirus with active link checking, so you can block the opening of any suspicious or malicious link in the bud. THE best antivirus with link protection that we can download are:
- ESET Mobile Security&Antivirus: one of the best security apps for Android, with one of the most effective anti-phishing scanning systems, thanks to the use of the immense ESET database (full of scam websites such as that of the SMS scam of the Post Office).
- Avira Security Antivirus: excellent antivirus and antispyware able to block scam links and scam messages. This antivirus is free to download for Android and for iPhone.
- Avast Antivirus & Security: another effective antivirus and antimalware specific for scans of links and scam sites. Again you can download the protection for Android and for iPhone.
- Bitdefender Mobile Security: currently one of the best security suites available for smartphones, thanks to the message scam warning system. Bitdefender Mobile Security is downloadable for Android and for iPhone.
To learn more we can also read our guides to best antivirus and antimalware apps for android come on how to delete virus on iPhone and install antivirus.
Conclusions
Avoiding the SMS scam of the Post Office is very simple, but we will have to pay maximum attention to the links on which we click: it takes very little to find the account drained or the PostePay card no longer a penny. These links are disseminated with increasingly sophisticated methods but even novice users can defend themselves effectively using an antivirus with link checking system.
Still on the subject of computer scams, we can read our guides on how to avoid SMS scam and spam and what are the titles used in Emails with scams, spam and fake messages.
