Fake Czech eGovernment sites steal banking login details

Fraudulent websites masquerading as the Citizen Portal, Citizen Identity Portal, or Public Administration Portal are tricking people into divulging their online banking login details, potentially leading to financial losses. These fake sites are surfacing in internet search engine results and are also being promoted via SMS and email messages, the Digital Information Agency (DIA) warned today.

The DIA’s Cyber Security Division is actively identifying and reporting these malicious links, working to have them swiftly removed from the internet. The agency urges citizens to be vigilant when accessing the Citizen Identity or Citizen Portal, advising them to carefully verify the URLs before entering any sensitive information. Suspicious websites can be reported to the DIA hotline at 227 023 444. The official and secure URLs for these portals are: https://www.identitaobcana.cz/, https://obcan.portal.gov.cz/, and https://portal.gov.cz/.

“We’re increasingly concerned that these fake sites are now appearing in search engine results, not just through fraudulent SMS or emails. We’re working on ways to disable these fake sites and their ads as quickly as possible,” said DIA Director Martin Mesršmíd. “We’re also taking steps to ensure that the Citizen Identity Portal and Citizen Portal appear prominently in search engine rankings. Additionally, we’re preparing to transition the Citizen Identity Portal to the gov.cz domain, which is recognized as the official domain for state websites.”

The DIA advises citizens to immediately contact their bank and block access to their internet or mobile banking if they suspect any unusual transactions. They also recommend never clicking on links to government portals that arrive from untrusted or unknown sources. Instead, users should save the official URLs directly on their devices and avoid accessing these sites via search engine ads, SMS, or emails from unfamiliar senders.

Source: DIA and CTK