Gov’t issues alert over wave of fraudulent text messages

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service (PRITS) has issued a public alert after identifying a fraud scheme in which malicious actors send text messages to steal personal and financial information from residents.

According to PRITS, these messages often impersonate government agencies or public services -- such as the AutoExpreso toll system -- to lure users into clicking external links that do not belong to the Government of Puerto Rico.

The announcement comes almost a week after the island Legislature confirmed Poincaré Díaz Peña as the new head of PRITS and at the behest of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO by its acronym in Spanish). The alert follows ongoing consumer‑protection efforts by DACO, which has been warning residents about fraudulent text messages that pressure individuals to make payments for alleged debts or outstanding tolls. Officials emphasized that the Government of Puerto Rico will never request sensitive information -- such as Social Security numbers or banking details -- through text messages or social media. All official digital platforms of government agencies use domains that end exclusively in pr.gov.

Díaz Peña underscored the importance of public awareness as a defense against cyber threats.

“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. We urge the public to remain vigilant against these attacks,” he said. “As DACO has pointed out from the consumer‑protection perspective, PRITS works continuously to strengthen the government’s digital infrastructure, but the first line of defense is an informed citizen who is skeptical of suspicious links and communications that do not come from established official channels.”

The PRITS chief added that any communication from a domain other than the government’s official pr.gov should be considered a potential threat to personal data privacy. He also encouraged anyone who receives such messages not to interact with the provided links and to report the incident immediately to prevent further harm to consumers.