The Valencian Department of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism alerts citizens about the existence of a fraudulent website (https://sitval.net/) that impersonates that of the ITV. This website, posing as the legitimate one, has been charging users to get fake appointments for inspections at all stations in the Valencian Community.
According to a statement sent by the department headed by Nuria Montes, “said website has already been reported to the competent authorities and appropriate measures are being taken against whoever is behind it.”
The Ministry explains that from the official website of the Valencian Society of Technical Vehicle Inspection, SA (https://sitval.com/
However, for approximately a month, a website has been operating under the aforementioned domain “https://sitval.net/” in which, upon payment of 20 or 29 euros depending on the urgency, an appointment is guaranteed and even “ discounts of up to 40%.” This is a fraudulent website that has nothing to do with public service and has already obtained money from several people.
In fact, the statement explains, “the alarms went off when the contact form with Sitval began to receive complaints from citizens who had paid and who, when they showed up at the requested station, discovered that they did not have an appointment and that they had been allegedly scammed.”
A notice was also received from the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) in which numerous complaints of fraud were recorded pointing to the fake Sitval website. In fact, INCIBE has requested that the “Sitval.net” domain be delisted and that the website be closed, so far, without success.
As has been reported to the police authorities, the website that pretends to be Sitval and that charges its number is owned by the company Innovatech Holding LLC based in the state of Delaware in the United States. It should be noted that in this state you can create a company for little money and without having to set foot in the country.
The Generalitat has identified a citizen of Castellón as the representative of said company, of the same in Spain and also of the company that made the website (Cameleón Innova). Sitval does not know who the beneficiaries of the payments that users are making for fake appointments are. Nor is it understood why it issues statements and offers information in numbers from the public service, thus increasing the confusion of those affected.
It is worth remembering that the Spanish Penal Code punishes crimes against industrial property with prison sentences and/or fines for those who imitate a registered trademark or logo of a product or service in order to obtain an economic benefit to the detriment of the owner of the same. brand.
