New letter scam targets pensioners

‘Screw it up and throw it in the bin’: That’s the message from the Spanish Social Security on a new scam doing the rounds on the Costa del Sol that specifically targets pensioners.

The official Twitter account of the General Treasury of Social Security has issued a warning about a new scam letter. They urge people to always be wary of this type of communication.

The letter is beginning to do the rounds in Spain, targeting pensioners and retirees, according to a warning issued by the Social Security, who issued a statement asking the public to pay special attention if they receive a letter supposedly from the Social Security (TGSS).

‘It’s false!’ the tweet reads from the National Police and retweeted by Social Security. They are also calling on people to spread the news far and wide on their social media accounts in order to alert others of the fake letter.

Phishing emails and phone text messages have become commonplace in the inboxes of many in Spain over the last few years, but they rarely take the form of a traditional paper letter. For this reason, there are concerns that it may take some by surprise, causing them to fall for the scam.

With a soup of spelling mistakes and poor punctuation, the letter, under the title of ‘Change of Social Security bank details’, demands photos of the recipient’s ID card, a photocopy of a bank statement with bank details, and the amounts the person received last month. The Social Security office assures everyone that they would never request sensitive information in this way.