Renfe Warns Users About An Online Scam Offering Cheap Train Tickets

THE Spanish train operator Renfe alerted travellers via a tweet on its official ‘X’ account earlier this month about an online scam that has targetted the company.

Cybercriminals have allegedly been offering a deal purportedly by Renfe where users can purchase six train tickets for only €2. This scam is one of numerous methods used as bait by online criminals to defraud innocent victims.

As seen in their tweet, the ‘bad guys’ impersonated the page of the main suburban network manager in Spain. However, if you look closely you will see that the URL shown is not the original and is in fact called ‘cyphere.shop’, as reported by 20minutos.es.

⚠️ ¡ATENCIÓN! Esta información es FALSA ❌📷 ¡No piques! 🖐️

📌 Recuerda: nunca cliques en un enlace sospechoso y, ante la duda, consulta nuestras cuentas oficiales. pic.twitter.com/TbrBj3o413

— Renfe (@Renfe) October 10, 2023

The criminals ask for bank details and personal information

Once a member of the public decides to take advantage of the cheap ‘offer’, the cybercriminals ask them to complete a series of steps, such as filling out a form with personal information along with their banking details for completing the payment.

When it comes time to pay, the scammers show that the price of the order was €178, but that with the promotion, it is reduced to €2.

However, if the user falls into the trap and pays the amount, they should know that the cybercriminals have obtained their money along with all their personal and banking information.

They were also offering a ‘card’ that provided free travel for 12 months

These cybercriminals were also apparently promoting another ‘card’ that costs train users €2. It claimed to allow free travel with Renfe for an entire year.

The promotion insists that it refers to an ‘offer’ that was launched on the occasion of the company’s 70th anniversary. If regular travellers who know Renfe stop to think about it, the company celebrated its 18th birthday at the beginning of 2023.

Me ha salido una publicidad de Renfe en la que te regalan un año de viajes por 2 euros. @Renfe es real? pic.twitter.com/LQ4QihQpdh

— José Soto 🏳️‍🌈 (@sotosinmas) October 7, 2023

In these situations where an offer seems too good to be true, it is always advisable to verify the information on the promotions that are announced on social networks or that arrive by email through the company’s official website.