Fraudulent emails
Warning against fraudulent emails appearing to come from OTIF
Malware and phishing emails from fake addresses are in circulation.
Hackers and scammers send out fraudulent emails that trick you into clicking on malicious links or opening attachments. Their aim is to obtain personal information, such as credentials or credit card information, or to infect your computer or smartphone with malware. If you receive an email that seems to come from OTIF, check its authenticity before responding.
Some Member States have alerted the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) to the fact that they have received requests for information by email, which appeared to come from the Secretariat. These messages impersonate OTIF staff members and refer to false email domain names.
OTIF reacted immediately by alerting the Member States directly, informing its staff and reporting the case to the authorities of the host State.
The Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail:
- will never ask you for your username or password to access security information;
- will never send you unsolicited attachments;
- will never inform you of a bank account change by email;
- will never send you an invoice by email only;
- will never ask you to pay to apply for a job, register for a conference or book a hotel;
- never organises lotteries and does not offer prizes, scholarships, certificates or funds via email.
What should you do if you receive suspicious messages?
- Always check the sender’s address when communicating with the Secretariat by email.
- Beware of unsolicited or unexpected emails. Compare the sender’s name and email address, because these details often do not match if the email is fraudulent.
- If you are at all suspicious, delete the emails.
- Never click on attachments or links in suspicious emails.
- Never share personal details, login information or credit card details in response to these emails.
- Recipients are often given the impression that urgent action is needed so that they react to the message without thinking instead of critically examining the content of the email. If you have any suspicions, you can contact the OTIF Secretariat at any time.
- Large trustworthy firms are often misused to commit fraud. Look out for similar scams from other senders.
