A Chave Móvel Digital text is genuine only if you asked for the code yourself. ARTE and CGD warn of fake messages
ARTE (Agência para a Reforma Tecnológica do Estado), the agency that runs Chave Móvel Digital — the digital key for logging in to government portals — has warned of fake text messages sent in the key's name (ARTE). Scammers write about "problems" with the key, unpaid bills or suspicious logins and ask you to follow a link. These messages may carry logos and arrive in the same thread as the genuine codes from the key.
ARTE advises checking one thing: a text from Chave Móvel Digital is genuine only if you have just asked for a code yourself — by logging in to a portal, signing a document or registering in the gov.pt app. Any other such text is fake. The agency itself never asks for personal or bank details by text, email or phone. If someone calls claiming to be "from support" and asks for a password or code, that is a scam too, even if the caller knows your details.
This week the bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) added a new one to the list of fake messages on its website: a text in the bank's name asking you to call a fake number (Notícias ao Minuto). The bank reminds customers that the sender name on a text and the caller's number can be faked, so a familiar name on the screen is no guarantee. Never give anyone codes from texts, card details or passwords.
If you have already followed the link and entered a code or password, change your passwords straight away from a secure device and call your bank.
