A 60-year-old man lost €48,000 after falling victim to an online scam involving messages from people posing as the National Health Scheme (Gesy), police said on Wednesday.

The complaint was filed with Paphos CID after the man received a text message on April 28 claiming his Gesy profile needed updating.

The message included a link to a website.

Police said the victim followed the link and was asked to enter personal and bank details, supposedly to complete the update process.

After submitting the information, perpetrators withdrew €48,000 from his account.

The case is being investigated by the economic crime investigation office of the Paphos financial crimes unit.

Authorities warned that Gesy will never request passwords, login or payment details via text messages or ask users to carry out financial transactions through links.

Police urged the public to be cautious when receiving messages containing links and to verify their authenticity through official communication channels.

They also advised against entering personal or banking details on unknown websites.

Anyone who has shared such information should immediately contact their bank to prevent further losses, police said.