In a stoke of irony, on June 19th, the customer service department of Italy’s Piracy Shield piracy ticketing platform warned consumers about fraudulent warnings posing as emails from their own department, asking recipients to dispute AGCOM warnings.
“The Communications Warranty Authority warns citizens and users of the risks associated with fraudulent communications, delivered in these days and attributable to unidentified subjects, who, on behalf of a so-called AGCOM Customer Service – Piracy Shield, dispute irregularities related to “links to websites under observation as they can be traced back to the transmission of illegal streaming.
“In the fake communications, the payment of a penalty is requested, it is referred to subsequent communication for the provision of bank details and a telephone number and a name are provided to contact.” – Source AGCOM
The agency said that this act constituted fraud, and for consumers to adopt protective behaviors and not to follow up on these communications
Further reading
Fraudulent communications of the so-called AGCOM Piracy Shield customer service. Press release. June 19, 2025. AGCOM (Autorita per le Garanzie Nelle Communicazioni)
Why it matters
While AGCOM’s warning is well intentioned, it may confuse some recipients who wonder whether or not it was an attack of disinformation or was genuine.
For Piracy Shield to be subject to this attack should put the agency on notice that its cybersecurity protections and practices need improvement.
