Beware of the Bizum scam

Police warn that thousands of messages are being sent posing as victims’ contacts to try to steal €50 in a new Bizum scam.

Bizum has become one of the most used payment methods in dozens of countries, however, police are now warning that thousands of messages are being sent posing as victims’ contacts to try to steal €50 in a new scam.

To carry out this scam, the thieves send a message via WhatsApp to thousands of random numbers, making victims believe that it is a contact in their phone book. The message says that they have sent €50 to the victim through Bizum in error.

The person who is posing as the WhatsApp contact tells the victim to return the €50 through Bizum, however, the person sending the message is a scammer who receives the money.

A few months ago, the police warned of another mechanism used by scammers that consisted of the alleged buyer of an item over the internet. Instead of paying for the goods, they sent a request for money for the same amount.

Another recurring scam through Bizum is the one that has to do with the General Treasury of the Social Security. In this case, an alleged social security official contacts the victim to inform him that he has to make a deposit through Bizum for an outstanding debt.

In the past there have been several scams with this method, so do not trust anyone who asks for payment outside of the legal channels.

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