Happy World Book and Copyright Day, it might seem like a bit of a mouthful, but for those bookworms amongst us April 23 is a UNESCO event celebrating books and authors.

But why do we celebrate the worldwide event? And what is its purpose? April 23, according to UNESCO, “holds immense symbolism in world literature, marking the death of several renowned authors.” The English William Shakespeare and the Spanish Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, are amongst those whose legacy is remembered on World Book and Copyright Day. A legacy that focuses with hope on education and literacy around the world.

World Book Day’s origins are firmly rooted in Spanish literary history and culture.

The original world book day actually began in Spain. According to the association of publishers: “The celebration goes back to ‘La Diada de Sant Jordi’, or the Festival of St George, which is Catalunya’s version of Valentine’s Day, when people give each other red roses—but also books.” The festival of Saint George falls on April 23.

But Spain’s association with World Book day goes even further than this, as according to the association of publishers in 1995, “the UNESCO Director General, Federico Mayor- a Spanish scientist, scholar, politician, diplomat and poet sent a letter to Pere Vicens, president of the Spanish Publishers Association (La Federación de Gremios de Editores de España), informing him that UNESCO had unanimously decided to declare the 23rd of April as ‘World Book and Copyright Day”.

Although in many countries there are separate World Book Days as with The UK and Ireland both of which celebrate the event in early March.

How is UNESCO celebrating this year?

World Book and Copyright Day brings libraries, publishers and authors together to celebrate in UNESCO’s words “the power of books.” Each year since 2001 a city has been chosen as A World Book Capital, this year it was the turn Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city is using the event to begin a project showing how books can influence socio-economic changes, focusing on literacy, education and the eradication of poverty.

The UNESCO Director General, Audrey Azoulay said that “Books in all their forms, allow us to learn and keep ourselves informed. They also entertain us and help us to understand the world.”

Multilingualism is a key component in literacy worldwide and UNESCO use World Book and Copyright Day as a platform to advocate for multilingual educational resources, just as they did on Mother Language Day back in February. Here in Spain there are book sharing events and much more to take part in all over the country, visit your Town Hall’s social media to find out what they have planned.

Discover more world events here.

In La Cala de Mijas, they know him for his warmth, professionalism and his personal touch. They know him as Andrew from Figaro.

‘We are open every day, all year round, because our customers come back again and again,’ Says the Hungarian born manager of Figaro in La Cala de Mijas. ‘They say, we came because you were recommended. Oh, you must be Andrew!’ They come for the quality of the food. We do things in a different way’

18 years in Spain, Andrew brings with him all the experience of hospitality learned in Hungary, Germany, Austria and Michelin star quality in Switzerland.

He began at age 14 working in a busy restaurant on the shores of Lake Balaton, always learning. He worked for a high-end French hotel chain, and in a Swiss Michelin star hotel in Switzerland. ‘I’ve built my own system from the places I’ve worked. How the service has to be done. I train my waiters, record videos for them, how to decant the wine, how to recommend a wine perfectly.’

‘When we open, we are ‘on air’ and forget everything else out there. Focussing, concentrating. The customer is everything.’

Andrew is an integral part of everything that happens at Figaro, from testing recipes, to checking for food intolerance issues, to ensuring the customer has the best experience. 

Meet Andrew at Figaro, Calle Ronda, 34, La Cala de Mijas.

Cybercriminals are once again exploiting Netflix’s popularity through SMS phishing scams.

The streaming platform is being impersonated in a cyber scam that targets personal and financial data of the users. This time, it’s about fraudulent SMS messages created to impersonate the platform and ultimately trick users into handing over personal information.

“Your last payment has failed!” How the scam works

According to Infoveritas, a known scam that mimics Netflix has recently resurfaced. It is using text messages urging subscribers to update their payment details due to a supposed billing error.

The messages that appear to come from Netflix are saying, in Spanish: “Your last payment has failed. Remember to renew your subscription before 00:00 to avoid having your access blocked.” The text comes with a link that redirects to a fake website (regulación-netflix.info), which has no connection to Netflix’s official page.

When the users click that link, they are prompted to complete a verification process and a form requesting their Netflix login credentials and payment information. If the form is completed, it hands over private data to scammers, giving them full access to the account and potentially banking information.

A real case of €600 loss

Spanish media previously reported the case of a woman who lost nearly €600 after falling victim to this kind of scam. The fraudulent site imitated the Netflix interface convincingly, so the victim acted quickly, fearing she would lose access. That’s a common tactic in social engineering attacks.

The scam is further exposed by the phone number included in the message: 1-844-505-2993, which is not associated with Netflix. The official Netflix customer service number in Spain is 900 759 106.

What Netflix says

Netflix has reiterated through its official channels that it NEVER asks users for personal or payment information via SMS or email. In a public statement, the company warned:

“If you receive a message asking for your Netflix account email, phone number, password, or payment method, it likely did not come from us.”

How to stay safe

Experts in cybersecurity recommend the following actions to protect yourself against this scam:

• Do not click on suspicious links received by SMS or email.
• Never ever enter your login details or payment details unless you are on the verified official website (in this case, netflix.com).
• Check twice the sender’s phone number or email address.
• Report phishing attempts by forwarding the message to phishing@netflix.com.

What to do if you’ve fallen victim to this scam

If you’ve been tricked and have shared your information, here are a few steps you should follow, as recommended by the Spanish fact-checking website Maldita:

• If you’ve shared personal information, search your own name on the internet to see what information about you is publicly available, in order to check if your data is being misused online.
• If you’ve also provided your bank card details or online banking credentials, contact your bank as soon as possible and explain to them what happened to take the necessary actions.
• Gather all the evidence of how the scam occurred and report it to the Spanish National Police or Guardia Civil.