By Renee Strouthou
Over the past few months, residents across Cyprus have been receiving spam calls from fraudsters posing as representatives of a trusted organization, with the goal of gaining access to personal information.
One of the most common scams involves phone calls. On a daily basis, locals are being called from Cypriot numbers, falsely claiming to be a worker from PayPal. When answering the call, an automated message, speaking in English, will ask you to follow specific directions. Victims who follow their orders may end up on a fraudulent website that resembles the official PayPal website, where they are prompted to enter personal details, login credentials, or transaction information.
In addition, there has been an increase in WhatsApp calls from individuals impersonating police officers or immigration. Scammers will attempt to pressure victims into revealing sensitive documents or making payments.
Residents are advised to remain alert when receiving these calls. It is important to hang up the phone once the robotic voice is heard and not to share sensitive information over the phone.
It is important to be aware that official organizations, such as banks, PayPal, and police, do not ask for personal information, such as passwords, verification codes, and payments over the phone.
