Police warn of repeated attempts at fraud

Unfortunately, the fraudsters have been very much in demand, but from March this year until mid-May, or two and a half months ago, unscrupulous parties have been holding around ISK 100m of people and companies in this way.

There are many scammers that send emails and messages to individuals and companies, and there are some scammers that receive counterfeit bills. Calls also come from phone numbers that look Icelandic, but can be from offenders, and there is every reason to warn against any such scams they may contain. Remember that if something is too good to be true, it is probably not true. People are frequently contacted and offered “assistance” in buying electronic coins etc., and people are then also instructed/ instructed to install Anydesk, or other programs, on phones and/or computers. Police are warning especially against this, as the scammers are being offered to seize the electronic devices by installing those programs. There are also examples of people being called back in order to “assist with recovery”, but this is a continuation of the same scam, and therefore it is strongly warned against this as well.

There is also ample reason to warn against parties who, through messages or phone calls, offer their assistance and want to get people to share a screen in a computer or other device with them, which is called ‘screen-sharing’. With this method, the fraudulent gets a lot of information and possibly access to e-mail, a home bank etc. This can result in a lot of damage. Finally, there have been reports of people’s plight being exploited. For example, fundraisers for individuals who are reported to be from Gaza but are not.

The police remind people to be vigilant when there are cheats.