Urda train crash families targeted by fake SMS scams

Rescue and identification work continues at Urda in Toledo after a train accident between an AVE and an Iryo service left 69 dead. Some relatives of passengers who remain missing have received fake SMS messages from people posing as the Guardia Civil, informing them that the bodies of their loved ones have supposedly been identified.

The Guardia Civil has denied sending any such messages and stated that victim identifications are communicated only in person and personally, never by text message, WhatsApp, or telephone call. The warning was issued through its official X account and other official channels.

“Victim identification is communicated in person and personally, never by text message, WhatsApp, or telephone call.”

The Data Integration Centre, made up of forensic specialists and members of the security forces, has also alerted families to this impersonation. In a statement circulated by the Castilla-La Mancha High Court of Justice, the body asked potentially affected people not to give credence to these communications.

The Guardia Civil has asked first-degree relatives of missing persons to visit the enabled offices to provide information and DNA samples that can help establish the identities of the victims. It said relatives should come as soon as possible to speed up the work, and that if they have already provided their details, officers will contact them when there is news.

The scam resembles a practice known in cybersecurity as smishing, in which fraudsters seek to obtain information or compromise devices through text messages. It is possible that the scammers obtained contact details through a website set up for relatives of missing persons to publish notices and facilitate the search, where families leave their phone numbers.

The warning comes at a particularly delicate moment for families affected by the accident, who are waiting for news and updates in these days.