Sometimes fraudulent electronic mails are detected masqueraded behind the image of an organization, organism, financial entity, etc. Fraudsters send massive amounts of electronic mails which re-direct receivers to pages replicated from the original ones which they intend to supplant, with the purpose of obtaining personal and, specially, banking data.

Unfortunately, the National Statistics Institute is not safe from these attacks, and in order to avoid becoming a victim of these techniques it is important to take the following into account:

1. INE never contacts citizens through electronic mails whereby they are asked to take part in any survey. Whenever a person or company is selected for the first time to take part in a survey, said person or company always receives a customized letter announcing the forthcoming visit or call from an interviewer, or providing a telephone number to be used for resolving any doubts or to collect additional information.
2. Companies taking part in surveys are offered the possibility of filling an Internet-based electronic questionnaire, through a safe web in which the information circulates encoded.
3. INE never requests any type of data related with the banking entities with which citizens work, let alone bank account or credit card numbers or security codes.
4. Baking data are only requested when issuing telematic certificates and paying their corresponding fee. In this case the user accesses the service by means of a class 2CA user certificate issued by Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre-Real Casa de la Moneda (Royal Spanish Mint) and the interaction is carried out by means of a safe web.
5. A safe web applies the https protocol which is the safe version of the http protocol, thereby guaranteeing interaction through an encoded channel. It is mainly used by banking entities, on-line stores and any type of service requiring the communication of personal data or passwords. It is also recognized by the bolt which pops up, such as the one in the image of the status bar:

   The identity of the equipment with which the connection is established is displayed by double clicking on said icon.

In case of doubts regarding the authenticity of any electronic mail or website claiming to have been sent by or to belong to the National Statistics Institute, please contact us, in order to verify its authenticity.