Chamber of Commerce warns: Beware of fake PEC emails and payment requests

Recently, the number of cases of fake payment requests and PEC mails has increased again in South Tyrol. Companies entered in the commercial register are receiving invoices and requests for payment by post, email and also via PEC. The Chamber of Commerce advises caution.

Numerous South Tyrolean companies have recently been receiving fake emails and PEC emails with requests for payment that give the impression that they are correct or even invoices issued by official authorities.

However, these are fake payment requests that should not be paid under any circumstances.

Misleading business practices of this kind are not uncommon: records of companies entered in the commercial register or other public databases can be accessed anywhere in Italy. These companies are then systematically contacted with a request to pay a fee for the entry of their own company data in private databases and non-official trade mark registers.

An official-sounding formulation is deliberately chosen, which on a quick read can be interpreted as a request for payment of the annual Chamber of Commerce fee or other mandatory fees. It is only in the small print or on closer inspection that it becomes clear that this is not the case.

There are also cases of fake payment requests in circulation that are sent via PEC mail. The messages then refer to an invoice that can be accessed via a link. If this link is clicked, it could infect the computer with malware. Extreme caution is advised when receiving such mails and it is recommended to delete the messages in question without opening the link.

Furthermore, the Chamber of Commerce has become aware of a case in which the data of a company was used without authorisation to create and send fake invoices. This goes beyond misleading business practices and already amounts to fraud.

‘Invoices must be checked before payment. Caution is required, especially if the bank details of the invoice issuer have changed,’ explains Alfred Aberer, Secretary General of the Bolzano Chamber of Commerce.

Affected entrepreneurs have the opportunity to draw the attention of the Italian Market and Competition Protection Authority to unfair business practices or misleading advertising campaigns. The relevant report can be made either online at www.agcm.it or by dialling the green number 800 166 661. Furthermore, the company has a right of cancellation of 14 days from the date of payment.

The Bolzano Chamber of Commerce publishes up-to-date information on these misleading commercial practices on its website under the menu item ‘Market regulation’.

For further information, please contact the Bolzano Chamber of Commerce, Hannes Dusini, tel. 0471 945 693, e-mail: hannes.dusini@handelskammer.bz.it and Thomas Wenter, tel. 0471 945 605, e-mail: thomas.wenter@handelskammer.bz.it.