Portugal authorities issue alerts against widespread phishing and fraud schemes

Authorities and institutions in Portugal have issued multiple warnings regarding various fraudulent schemes targeting citizens through SMS, email, WhatsApp, and phone calls.

The Ministry of Health and the National Health Service (SNS) have alerted the public to fake messages claiming outstanding health payments are due. These messages use a sense of urgency to pressure victims into providing personal or banking information via malicious links.

Simultaneously, scammers are impersonating the Tax Authority (Autoridade Tributária) and Social Security to claim there are tax debts or a need to update personal data. Official guidance states that the Tax Authority never includes links in messages to request or confirm fiscal data and only sends emails from addresses ending in @at.gov.pt.

In the banking sector, Millennium bcp has reported fraudulent calls where scammers pose as security personnel. These criminals attempt to convince customers to install remote access software, such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer, or to provide authorization codes under the pretext of canceling suspicious transactions. The bank emphasizes that it never requests authorization codes, PINs, or the installation of third-party software over the phone.