In Mallorca, dozens of reports of attempted or actual online scams are being reported on a daily basis. Over recent months, reports to the Guardia Civil and National Police have risen by around 300%. The forces' technological crimes units are working overtime in dealing with the barrage of reports.
On Tuesday, a police commander said that twelve reports were registered in the western division of Palma alone. He described the reports as an "avalanche" of attempts by organised gangs to defraud individuals with malicious emails, texts and WhatsApp messages.
The cyberattack that Calvia town hall suffered at the weekend is on a different scale to much of what gets reported by individuals. Calvia was attacked by LockBit hackers of Russian origin and with a ransom demand of ten million euros. Even though the scale of the crime isn't the same, for victims it is harrowing.
The police are drawing attention to the ten most common methods, e.g. phishing (use of deceptive emails to obtain personal or financial information).
The advice is to maintain a low profile and be very discreet on the internet: "There are times when a user explains on social networks that they have had a problem with their bank and gives the name. That is an error. No one should know this information, as it greatly facilitates the task of criminals."
It is stressed that banks never ask clients for sensitive information or provide them with secret codes. "If someone makes contacts and asks for these numbers, users should conclude that it is a scammer." A third point to keep in mind is to never click on a suspicious link or page. In seconds a virus can enter and sneak into a bank account.