Energy price flat rate as a scam: consumer advocates warn of a nasty trick
Created: 09/15/2022, 13:23
By: Stella Henrich
Consumer advocates are currently warning of fraudulent emails.
In it, recipients are asked to verify their personal data in order to receive the money for the energy price flat rate.
Munich – The consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia is sounding the alarm.
Fraudsters are currently using the announced energy price flat rate of 300 euros to capitalize on consumers' ignorance.
In e-mails from alleged banks, the criminals claimed that the personal data of recipients would have to be compared in order to pay out the lump sum.
Fake messages from the Federal Ministry of Finance also came as SMS.
As in the case of the Sparkasse (picture below), the letters that customers receive by e-mail look highly official and bear the logo of the bank.
The recipients are asked to open the website and enter personal data.
Only then can you get the energy price flat rate of 300 euros.
The scam is also tried via SMS.
"This is pure nonsense!" warns the consumer advocates about these phishing mails from the crooks.
The consumer advice center NRW warns of these letters with the Sparkasse logo.
You are cheating.
© Consumer Center NRW
300 euros from the state: writing without errors and with good grammar
The letters are signed “Your customer service!” and written in error-free German and with good grammar.
Comparable claims are now also being made with the logos of other banks - for example the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken, the consumer advice center NRW explains the fraudsters' approach on their own homepage.
Don't fall for this trick!
No bank or savings bank has to check data on the payment of the energy price flat rate.
Payment is made via wages or salary.
Consumer Center North Rhine-Westphalia
In addition, an attempt should also be made to deceive unsuspecting or gullible consumers and lure them to dubious Internet sites via text messages from the Ministry of Finance.
It states:
You still have to receive an amount of 254.33.
Verify yourself and receive the amount via: https://ruckkehr.biz/index5.php"
.
Or:
"The government has decided that you will receive a refund of €278.35.
Click here to receive payment.
cutt .ly/refund-”.
(
Editor's note: Please do not copy any of these links and call them up on the Internet
.)
Consumer advocates strongly advise against clicking on a link or replying to a message.
Consumers should move such e-mails directly to the spam folder and ignore further e-mails or SMS or immediately block the sender number themselves.
However, anyone who has already fallen for an attempt at fraud should report this to the police and monitor account movements for money debits.
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Who gets the 300 euros gross from the state?
The
energy price flat rate
of the traffic light coalition is a one-time payment.
You do not have to apply for the grant.
Anyone who is in a “first employment relationship” on September 1, 2022 and who is subject to tax brackets 1 to 5 should generally receive the gross amount of EUR 300 from their employer.
However, the point in time at which the subsidy is paid out can vary.
The lump sum is intended to relieve around 44 million workers.
But pensioners and students should also benefit.
Energy price flat rate: who gets it?
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