The nightmare par excellence: fraudsters get hold of personal bank details in order to order expensive things.
But it is even more perfidious.
Namely, if only the address is used for this.
Designer Mario S. from Bremen is a victim of identity fraud.
The 45-year-old contacted the Bild
newspaper in August 2022 to
publicize his case.
He has been in regular contact with the police for the past three months – only to file charges again and again without success.
Because the fraudsters cannot be identified, says Mario S. in the
picture
interview.
They used his previous address and invented new email addresses and phone numbers.
This way they could order all kinds of expensive utensils - from smartphones to food processors.
The fraudsters even opened an account and concluded telephone contracts at Mario S.'s expense, it is said.
"It's a bottomless pit!
On Tuesdays, my mailbox is always full of reminders.
A nightmare!” said the now married man from Bremen.
But moving and marriage could not end the odyssey.
Because his creditors, mail order companies and telephone companies, have found out Mario S.'s current address via the residents' registration office and are now sending the bills there.
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Data and identity theft often falls under the category of cybercrime.
© IMAGO/Silas Stein
Identity theft: what to do?
Mario S. reports reminders that have now reached a total of around 3,000 euros.
In addition to filing a police report, victims of identity fraud can do even more, as Bremen's police spokesman Nils Matthiesen is quoted as saying in the
picture
interview.
"Injured parties can contact the Schufa and have a free entry made to prevent repeat offenses on their behalf," says Matthiesen.
How to deal with identity theft:
File a criminal complaint with the police.
Register with Schufa as a victim of identity fraud (by email to Identitaetsschutz@schufa.de or by calling 0611-9278-0)
The Schufa entry as a victim of fraud means that the Schufa contractual partners are informed that there is a case of identity theft.
"Retailers and banks can then initiate a corresponding check as to whether the customer is actually making a purchase or wants to conclude a contract," says Sabine Bernstein from Schufa in the
image
interview.
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The consumer advice center also has the following additional tips on what to do in the event of identity theft:
Inform your bank and block the affected accounts and/or cards.
Change passwords of affected accounts.
Anyone who has had unauthorized direct debits reversed by the bank will usually be contacted by the creditors afterwards and demand their invoice amounts.
You can object with a sample letter from the consumer advice center.
List of rubrics: © IMAGO/Silas Stein
