"ÖGK Refund" of 2,500 Euros: Beware of Fake Emails

Currently, thousands of people in Austria are receiving emails promising an alleged refund from the Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) of 2,499.95 euros monthly. The fraudsters also use the name of the social insurance to make their messages appear credible.

Methods of the Fraudsters

The perpetrators ask recipients to enter their personal data on a linked website, supposedly to receive the refund. To deceive, they use fake reference numbers and even point out themselves to only follow "trustworthy emails" - a cunning trick to feign credibility.

Warning from Official Bodies

ÖGK, social insurance, and other institutions explicitly warn against these fraud attempts. The Ministry of Finance has also recently warned of similar phishing attempts in the name of FinanzOnline and the BMF.

Characteristics of Phishing Emails

The following features help to identify fraudulent emails:

- The sender does not use an official domain (such as bmf.gv.at or oegk.at)

- There is no personal salutation with the correct name

- Official bodies never mention exact refund amounts in emails

- The links do not lead to official government websites

- The text contains spelling errors

(Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.