Portuguese PM's office denounces fraud attempt using his name

The Portuguese Prime Minister's office issued a warning Monday about a fraudulent scheme targeting individuals via email and WhatsApp. The scam used the names of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and his chief of staff, Pedro Perestrelo, to solicit signatures for a purported confidentiality agreement. The government stated that the fraudulent communications invoked the identities of both officials in an attempt to gain recipients' adherence to a document whose authenticity has not been verified.

The Prime Minister's Office announced it has filed a complaint with the relevant authorities to investigate the incident and identify the source of the fraud attempt. The statement did not specify how many people were contacted or if any responded to the requests. Details regarding the exact content of the messages or the identities of the potential perpetrators remain undisclosed.

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The fraudulent contacts invoked the identity of both officials and aimed to obtain the adherence of the recipients to a confidentiality document whose authenticity has not been accredited.

This incident follows recent episodes involving the spread of false information or the misuse of the Portuguese prime minister's image. In January, the Prime Minister's Cabinet denounced a disinformation campaign that included a fake social media post attributed to Donald Trump, accompanied by a false message purportedly from Montenegro. At that time, the government also announced a complaint and urged verification of information sources. Additionally, in March, Portuguese intelligence services alerted to an international cyber-espionage campaign targeting government officials, diplomats, and military personnel by compromising WhatsApp and Signal accounts to obtain sensitive information.

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The Prime Minister's Office also reported that it has already filed a complaint with the competent authorities so that they can investigate the facts and determine the origin of the fraud attempt.