The European Consumer Centre (ECC) of the Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications drew the attention of consumers and email users towards the circulation of an email apparently originating from “Poste Italiane”, entitled “Riattiva imediatamente il tuo conto”.

Individuals who receive an email stating that their account has been suspended and requesting the provision of confidential information to verify and reactivate the account, through an included link, should delete it immediately. This email is being sent also to persons who do not hold an account with Poste Italiane, the ECC said. Account holders should never follow the link provided in the email, as most probably it will lead to a fraudulent transaction. Those who have provided confidential information should change their account password as soon as possible and inform Poste Italiane on [email protected] .

The aim of this email or similar fake (also phishing) emails is to induce unsuspecting recipients either to reply or to follow a link provided in the email and then provide confidential information.

It is recommended, the ECC said, that consumers should never follow a link provided in an email in order to accede to an account. Poste Italiane also provide useful advice on how one should protect oneself from ‘phishing’, on their website:

www.poste.it/online/phishing.shtml

Individuals who receive any phishing or deceptive emails and wish to lodge a report can do so directly to the police. The report will be brought to the attention of the Cyber Crimes Unit.