BTK blocks access to fraudulent housing websites

Acting on complaints received by the Presidential Communication Center (CİMER), the BTK has decided to shut down fraudulent housing application websites. These fake sites, launched under names such as "TOKİ First Home" and "500 Thousand Social Housing," were soliciting personal information and money from citizens in order to defraud them. Authorities have warned that applications should not be made through any platform other than official announcements.

The 500 thousand social housing project, initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and introduced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has become a target for scammers. Citizens, who were redirected to fake TOKİ and e-Government (e-Devlet) pages instead of official institutional websites, were asked for money under the guise of an "application fee" or "security deposit."

Following reports from fraud victims to CİMER, the BTK imposed access blocks on the fake "TOKİ First Home" and "500 Thousand Social Housing" themed websites. According to the BTK's statement, malicious links were identified through the systems of the National Cyber Incident Response Center (USOM) and blocked at the operator level.

Experts stated that such fraud attempts are known as "phishing." In this method, malicious actors aim to capture users' personal information or money transfers by imitating the websites of trusted institutions.

The BTK has called on citizens to send an email to [email protected] or submit a notification via USOM's official website when they encounter suspicious sites. It was also emphasized that in cases of victimization, one should apply to judicial authorities and change account passwords for security purposes. The BTK stated that they regularly identify and block access to fake sites, reminding citizens that they should only use official TOKİ and e-Government channels.

News Source: 12punto