News from afpop - Friday 21st of October 2022
Michael Reeve - 24-10-2022
News from afpop - Friday 21st of October 2022
Included in this briefing:
1. End of Situation of Alert
2. Lower IVA on electricity
3. COVID Booster + Influenza vaccination
4. Lisbon Airport Changes
5. GNR Phishing Alert
6. University survey
7. afpop office without telephone lines
8. Satellite offices
--Excuses, geen Nederlandse vertaling beschikbaar --
Good afternoon to you all on a wet and dreary day, hopefully filling up the barragens over the next week or so. The rain is set to be here, on and off, for a few days now – so let’s hope it does some good and remember there is a useful page called IPMA where Members can access the weather forecast and alerts, including information about temperature, wind, rain and sea state in their area, simply by selecting the District and City: https://www.ipma.pt/en/otempo/prev.localidade.hora/. There are already warnings of high waves along the coast, so BE CAREFUL please.
Thank you to those of you who sent messages last week about how useful you find these weekly Briefings. As I think I’ve said before I have come to enjoy these opportunities to ‘speak’ to Members, but I don’t want the weekly e-mails to become filled with irrelevant updates and lose their value. There aren’t always too many important matters to tell you about, but we won’t fill them with ‘fluff’ just to have something to say.
One thing that doesn’t seem to go away is the plague of phishing and fraud e-mails and we have more on that below, this time from the GNR, so PLEASE heed these warnings and ‘think before you link’ … OK I think I made up a slogan there!
On a more positive note, I’m pleased to report that the two trips to the recycling plant near Portimão are both full and we are working on a trip to a plant in the Eastern Algarve in the New Year. I know that there are Members who can’t make a trip to Portimão and anyway I’m sure you want to know what happens with the recycling that YOU use rather than the one in Portimão. More news on that in the future.
For Members in the West who might be looking forward to a trip to our satellite this month, please note the slight change in day at the end of this Briefing.
So let’s get into this;
End of Situation of Alert
A reminder that the Situation of Alert in mainland Portugal ended on the 30th of September.
This means:
Thank you to those of you who sent messages last week about how useful you find these weekly Briefings. As I think I’ve said before I have come to enjoy these opportunities to ‘speak’ to Members, but I don’t want the weekly e-mails to become filled with irrelevant updates and lose their value. There aren’t always too many important matters to tell you about, but we won’t fill them with ‘fluff’ just to have something to say.
One thing that doesn’t seem to go away is the plague of phishing and fraud e-mails and we have more on that below, this time from the GNR, so PLEASE heed these warnings and ‘think before you link’ … OK I think I made up a slogan there!
On a more positive note, I’m pleased to report that the two trips to the recycling plant near Portimão are both full and we are working on a trip to a plant in the Eastern Algarve in the New Year. I know that there are Members who can’t make a trip to Portimão and anyway I’m sure you want to know what happens with the recycling that YOU use rather than the one in Portimão. More news on that in the future.
For Members in the West who might be looking forward to a trip to our satellite this month, please note the slight change in day at the end of this Briefing.
So let’s get into this;
End of Situation of Alert
A reminder that the Situation of Alert in mainland Portugal ended on the 30th of September.
This means:
- Positive COVID case communication to the SNS24 line is no longer required
- Isolation is no longer mandatory
- SNS24 no longer passes requests for COVID tests. Screening continues to be free but only with a medical prescription from a doctor within the SNS
- Medical leave due to COVID is paid as in situations of other diseases
However, the use of a mask remains mandatory in health facilities and nursing homes. It remains recommended in farmácias, on public transport and in places with a large concentration of people.
It is also recommended that people who fall ill with COVID or who have come into contact with an infected person, should wear a mask and keep it as much as possible, distancing from others, especially those who are more vulnerable to infection.
You will find more about the measures in Madeira here:
https://covidmadeira.pt/ (you can choose the language at the bottom of the page)
Measures for Açores can be found here: https://covid19.azores.gov.pt (you will find a translate button on the left of the page)
Lower IVA on electricity
Members may have heard that a new law was approved by the Government to lower the IVA on electricity, however this only applies in certain cases.
The drop in the intermediate IVA rate (13%) to 6% is only applicable for low voltage contracts with power up to 6.9 kVA (potência contratada), and only for the first 100 kWh used by these consumers each month. All consumption that exceeds these values ??maintains the normal IVA rate of 23%. The 100 kWh limit increases to 150 kWh in the case of large families - 5 or more people - providing the contracted power does not exceed 6.9 kVA.
The reduction to 6% started from the 1st of October and will remain in force until the end of December 2023, in line with measures presented in other European countries.
The application of the 6% IVA rate to the corresponding consumption is automatic, it is enough that the contract meets these defined conditions. In the case of large families, if they have already requested this status from the supplier, the 6% tax on the first 150 kWh will also be automatic.
If your electricity bill is delayed this month, it might be because some electricity companies were waiting for the law to be published, which happened today.
COVID Booster + Influenza vaccination
We have been getting questions from Members concerning these vaccinations and at present all you can do is wait to be contacted by the SNS with an appointment. Below you will find the schedule that was announced by the government. You can find further information in our Factsheet FS/26.
The first phase started on the 7th of September and it covered people over 80 years or people with certain medical conditions. The second phase, which started on the 15th of September, included residents in nursing homes. The third phase which started on 21st of September included health professionals. The fourth phase started on the 7th of October including people over 70 years and the fifth phase, starting on November 12th, will include people from the age of 60.
Lisbon Airport Changes
The easyJet airline will move its operation to Terminal 1 of Lisbon Humberto Delgado airport, as of the 30th of October, after having 18 new daily slots allocated by the European Commission. Eurowings and Vueling will start operating in Terminal 2.
For more information, ANA Aeroportos recommends that customers contact the airline or consult the Lisbon airport website
GNR Phishing Alert
The GNR has issued a warning about a new phishing technique called Browser-in-the-Browser (BitB), which creates a fake login window within an active browser window, intended to obtain the user’s credentials. It isn’t clear from the GNR information exactly how one would recognise that this BitB page is activated, but there are three very simple ways to check if the site that you are on, in the GNR example it’s a Facebook page, is genuine. So if you have any doubt you can check, or perhaps even make these basic checks part of your browsing ritual. The first one is particularly easy to do and perhaps should already be included in your internet activity anyway.
To try to identify a fake login window, the user can perform some simple checks:
It is also recommended that people who fall ill with COVID or who have come into contact with an infected person, should wear a mask and keep it as much as possible, distancing from others, especially those who are more vulnerable to infection.
You will find more about the measures in Madeira here:
https://covidmadeira.pt/ (you can choose the language at the bottom of the page)
Measures for Açores can be found here: https://covid19.azores.gov.pt (you will find a translate button on the left of the page)
Lower IVA on electricity
Members may have heard that a new law was approved by the Government to lower the IVA on electricity, however this only applies in certain cases.
The drop in the intermediate IVA rate (13%) to 6% is only applicable for low voltage contracts with power up to 6.9 kVA (potência contratada), and only for the first 100 kWh used by these consumers each month. All consumption that exceeds these values ??maintains the normal IVA rate of 23%. The 100 kWh limit increases to 150 kWh in the case of large families - 5 or more people - providing the contracted power does not exceed 6.9 kVA.
The reduction to 6% started from the 1st of October and will remain in force until the end of December 2023, in line with measures presented in other European countries.
The application of the 6% IVA rate to the corresponding consumption is automatic, it is enough that the contract meets these defined conditions. In the case of large families, if they have already requested this status from the supplier, the 6% tax on the first 150 kWh will also be automatic.
If your electricity bill is delayed this month, it might be because some electricity companies were waiting for the law to be published, which happened today.
COVID Booster + Influenza vaccination
We have been getting questions from Members concerning these vaccinations and at present all you can do is wait to be contacted by the SNS with an appointment. Below you will find the schedule that was announced by the government. You can find further information in our Factsheet FS/26.
The first phase started on the 7th of September and it covered people over 80 years or people with certain medical conditions. The second phase, which started on the 15th of September, included residents in nursing homes. The third phase which started on 21st of September included health professionals. The fourth phase started on the 7th of October including people over 70 years and the fifth phase, starting on November 12th, will include people from the age of 60.
Lisbon Airport Changes
The easyJet airline will move its operation to Terminal 1 of Lisbon Humberto Delgado airport, as of the 30th of October, after having 18 new daily slots allocated by the European Commission. Eurowings and Vueling will start operating in Terminal 2.
For more information, ANA Aeroportos recommends that customers contact the airline or consult the Lisbon airport website
GNR Phishing Alert
The GNR has issued a warning about a new phishing technique called Browser-in-the-Browser (BitB), which creates a fake login window within an active browser window, intended to obtain the user’s credentials. It isn’t clear from the GNR information exactly how one would recognise that this BitB page is activated, but there are three very simple ways to check if the site that you are on, in the GNR example it’s a Facebook page, is genuine. So if you have any doubt you can check, or perhaps even make these basic checks part of your browsing ritual. The first one is particularly easy to do and perhaps should already be included in your internet activity anyway.
To try to identify a fake login window, the user can perform some simple checks:
- Check the website SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate, by clicking the ‘lock’ indicated by the left red arrow in the image below. If the login window is fake, nothing will happen when you click the lock, but if it is a genuine website it will display the SSL certificate information.
- When resizing the login window, as indicated by the right red arrow in the image below, if the window is fake you will not be able to resize it
- If the window is fake, the "minimize" button (the minus button on the top right of the screen) will actually close it altogether
If you have been scammed in this way and want to file a complaint and criminal procedure against the perpetrators, go to your local police station. You have up to 6 months from the date of the occurrence and you can make a complaint at any police station, accompanied by the data you have.
You can file the complaint electronically, using the digital platform at the following address:
https://queixaselectronicas.mai.gov.pt
You can also find safety and fraud prevention advice online on the GNR website at https://bit.ly/3SURK3i (it is in Portuguese, but you can use the translator of your browser)
University of the Algarve (UALG) survey
Longer standing Members will know that for some years now we have had a working relationship with the University of the Algarve, most notably when we provided mentors for some of their courses a few years ago and also through our Discover Portugal courses, which we hope to relaunch in 2023.
We have been asked by the University research team in the Tourism sector, known as the T-rELMA research team based at the University of Algarve, to invite Members who may have business interests in the tourism sector to participate in their short on-line survey, which can be accessed via the links below.
If you, or anyone you know, has a tourism related business, please feel free to participate in the survey, which is entirely confidential and anonymous.
English:
http://www.esght.ualg.pt/quest/index.php/692278?lang=en
Deutsch:
http://www.esght.ualg.pt/quest/index.php/692278?lang=de
Français:
http://www.esght.ualg.pt/quest/index.php/692278?lang=fr
Português:
http://www.esght.ualg.pt/quest/index.php/692278?lang=pt
You can visit their website for more information http://www.t-relmaualg.com/en/
afpop office telephone lines
On Wednesday 26th of October between 08h30 to 10h30 the electricity meter in the afpop office will be changed and all electricity will be switched off. This may mean that the phones will not be operating up to 10h30, so please don’t be alarmed if you try to contact us by phone and can’t get through on Wednesday morning. We hope that the change will be completed before 9 o’clock, but it may go beyond that.
Satellite offices
afpop staff will be on hand in the Satellite Offices again in October. If you need advice or assistance, wish to introduce a new Member to the Association, need to renew your subscription or just have a general query, please pass by and see us. Kindly contact the afpop office to make an appointment on 282 458 509 or info@afpop.com
Dates of the Satellites are:
- Almancil - Tuesday 25th of October between 10h00 and 12h30 (offices of MEDAL Seguros)
- Lagos - Wednesday 26th of October (NEW DATE) between 10h00 and 12h30 (premises of MediLagos on R. José Ferreira Canelas, which is behind the Câmara building- Please remember to bring a mask as it is a health facility)
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