The ‘Reverse Bizum’ scam is a scam that has become increasingly common and about which the Civil Guard and INCIBE have already alerted on multiple occasions. As the name suggests, this scam takes advantage of the popularity of the Bizum app, which allows users to make quick money transfers via their smartphones.
Bizum has become a popular form of payment among friends, acquaintances and in transactions between individuals and businesses… but this popularity has also attracted cyber scammers that seek to take advantage of unsuspecting users. This scam does not exploit any vulnerabilities in the app or make use of any malware, but is based on social engineering: the user is the weak link in the chain.
The Reverse Bizum technique involves criminals getting money from a user, making you believe you are receiving a payment when in fact you are authorizing a transfer of money from your account. But how do they achieve this?
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The reverse Bizum scam has been especially Present on second-hand trading platforms, such as Milanuncios, Vinted or Wallapopwhere users can put items up for sale and carry out transactions through Bizum.
Criminals show interest in buying an item and, once they gain the seller’s trust, they ask you to make the payment through this payment app. But, taking advantage of the seller’s ignorance about how it works, the criminals send a payment request instead of sending the agreed money.
Inattentiveness and the speed with which transactions are completed often play a large role in the success of this scam: Users can be tricked if they don’t carefully review transactions that they receive through Bizum and simply accept or authorize payments without paying enough attention to details.
There have been cases where victims have lost large sums of money due to this scam. In one case, in which the Civil Guard ended up intervening, the seller of an item on a private buying and selling platform lost 9,000 euros: the criminals continuously requested payments of 100 euros until the victim realized that their bank balance was getting low.
Some advices
Faced with the Reverse Bizum scam, it is essential to be vigilant and take steps to avoid becoming a victim of this scam. Here are some tips to protect yourself:
- Familiarize yourself with how Bizum works: It is important to understand how the app works and what type of notifications or messages are received when a transaction is made. Knowing the details of regular transactions will help you identify any suspicious activity.
- Verify the identity of the buyer/seller: Always verify the identity of the person with whom you are conducting a transaction. Do not rely solely on appearance or username on a trading platform.
- Do not rush in transactions: Take your time when reviewing the transactions you receive through Bizum. Read the messages carefully and verify that they correspond to what was agreed. Do not accept or authorize payments without first confirming the details of the transaction.
- Report any suspicious activity: If you think you have been a victim of the Reverse Bizum scam or have detected suspicious activity, do not hesitate to report it to the authorities. The sooner such cases are reported, the better the chance of tracking down and apprehending the criminals, as well as recovering the lost money.
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