Thousands of euros have been stolen from several Bank of Valletta clients who fell victim to scammers impersonating the finance ministry, Times of Malta has been informed. 

In a statement published by the Department of Information on Monday, the finance ministry urged the public to be wary of scammers impersonating the ministry and asking for personal information and bank details.

The statement warned the public of fraudulent phone calls, messages and emails being sent from a sender claiming to be the "Ministry for Finance or the Minister for Finance".

“We emphasise that the Ministry for Finance or the Minister for Finance will never request personal banking information, visa details, or monetary transfers through phone calls, messages or emails. Any such communication is fraudulent and should be ignored.”

The ministry advised people who receive any suspicious forms of communication to not provide any personal information to the sender nor click any links or attachments included in the messages. 

All incidents should also be reported to the relevant authorities. 

The Finance Ministry said it is collaborating with law enforcement to address the issue and called for the public to remain vigilant.

Sources told Times of Malta that the issue emerged when Bank of Valletta filed a number of police reports this month after their customers fell for the scam messages and thousands of euros were reported to be stolen.

Scam messages, calls and emails have increased over the years, and as the phishing scams become more sophisticated, police and numerous entities continue to call on the public to be more diligent and aware of fraudsters. 

Last year, the Malta Communications Authority said telecom companies will have to invest in technology that blocks scam calls originating from abroad but posing as a local number.