Nand the world of online scams, Health has also become a bait. Not fake news, this time, but of a real computer attack, disguised as institutional communication. These days, Thousands of Italian citizens are receiving emails apparently sent by the Ministry of Healthwith a clear and disturbing message: “Update your electronic health file or you will lose access”. But it’s all false.
Has the signature of the Ministry of Health, but it is a scam
The emails in question are carefully built: ministerial logo, formal tone, references to the electronic health file (FSE), the digital system that collects the clinical history of each citizen. The message Invite to click on a link to “check the identity” or “keep the service active”. Once inside, a web page opens that imitates the official one of the Ministry, where a code is requested (present in the email) and, immediately after, personal and bank data. It’s the classic phishing scheme, but with a more sophisticated disguise than usual. And for this reason, more dangerous.
Because it works: the fear of losing access to health
The Electronic healthcare file It has become a fundamental tool for millions of Italians: reports, prescriptions, vaccinations, hospitalizations, everything is there. The idea of being excluded from the system, perhaps in the middle of a health emergency, It can push even the most attentive users to click without thinking about it. The scammers know it, and exploit this emotional vulnerability with surgical precision.
Deceptive messages imitate institutional communications to subtract sensitive data. The Ministry launches the alert and invites to maximum prudence (photo official website min. Health)
The alarm of the Ministry of Health: “It’s a scam, don’t click”
The Ministry of Health has published an urgent notice on its official channels: «No communication has been sent via email regarding access to the ESF. The emails in circulation are false and dangerous. The invitation is clear and repeated: Do not click on the links, do not provide personal data, immediately delete the message received». In some cases, the scratch message also includes a telephone number to contact, which proves to be a paid service designed to empty the user’s telephone credit.
How to recognize a scam disguised as official communication
Here are some signs that they can help unmasking deception:
- Suspicion: the email address can contain non -institutional errors or domains
- Alarmistic tone: phrases such as “suspended access” or “urgent verification” are typical of phishing
- Requests for sensitive data: no public body asks for bank data via email
- Grammatical errors: even the most sophisticated scams can betray themselves with an uncertain syntax
- Suspicious links: passing on it with the mouse, you often notice a web address that has nothing to do with the ministry
What to do if you have received (or click) the email
If you had received one of these scam messages, the important thing to do is: Don’t click on any link, Do not enter personal or bank data, Do not immediately delete the email And report the incident to the postal police immediately. If information has already been provided, then it’s Well contact your bank to block any unauthorized operations.
Also digital health in the viewfinder, an expanding phenomenon
According to theEU agency for cybersecurity, Phishing attacks increased by 30% in the second quarter of 2025. The health sector, with its growing digitization, has become a privileged target. Similar scams have also been reported in Germany, with significant economic losses and privacy violations. Interpol and the Privacy Guarantor are monitoring the phenomenonwhich is part of a larger summer campaign of health -related digital fraud.
A scam that uses trust: it is needed more digital literacy
This wave of fraudulent email beyond the serious computer attack is unfortunately also an attack on the trust that citizens put in the institutions and technology that should simplify life. The answer, therefore, cannot be limited every time, to the cancellation of an email. We need a more solid digital culturewho teaches to recognize the signs of the danger and doubt when needed. Because health, even the digital one, defends itself with antivirus and firewall, but also with attention and greater knowledge.
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