Pay for water to a different account, the cyber crooks convince Prague customers

The company Pražské vodovody a kanalizace (PVK), which supplies water to residents and companies in the capital, has noticed fraudulent emails that invite customers to change their billing information. PVK spokesman Tomáš Mrázek informed about it.

“In the last case, we are registering the efforts of so-called cyber crooks, who use a fraudulent e-mail address to encourage our customers to direct the payment for water and sewage to a different account than the official PVK account,” Mrázek described. Similar practices are now increasing, which is why the company is warning its customers, whether from households or companies.

According to Mrázek, customers should primarily focus on the suspicious date and time when the messages came to them, then from whom the e-mail was actually delivered, and whether the sender’s address matches even if they try to reply to the e-mail.

“We recommend that customers check the change of payment data on the PVK customer line,” emphasized Mrázek.

Based on these experiences, according to the spokesperson, PVK checked their IT systems and infrastructure, which were not attacked. PVK does not manage the bank account to which the fraudulent e-mails pointed. “No e-mail was sent from the company’s official addresses,” assured Mrázek.