Thousands of people across Austria have been receiving SMS messages on their phones by people pretending to be their bank. 

In the messages, people are told they need to update the access to their online bank account or it will expire in the next few days.

The recipients are then given a link to click on where they can enter their bank details – but this is a con, the Federal Criminal Police Office said.

“In reality, it is a scam and the link leads to a fake page of the respective bank,” said Austrian police in a statement.

Police have warned residents that some of the pages designed by the fraudsters look real so people should remain on guard and be especially cautious. 

“Some of the fake pages are so professionally designed that at first glance there is no difference between them and the ‘real’ pages,” said police. 

The perpetrators then use the bank data entered to carry out fraudulent transfers, purchases or withdrawals of money. 

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What can you do if you receive this message?

Police have urged people to keep in mind that banks will never send links to you asking you to unlock your account. 

They also say people should only install apps from known sources and that no-one should enter details of their bank account and/or payment cards when prompted if it not clear who the person asking is. 

People should delete any suspicious messages they receive, or hang up on callers. 

“In case of doubt, contact your personal bank advisor and inquire about the message sent to you,” added police.

“In the event of damage, inform your bank immediately and report the matter to a police station.”