New WhatsApp scam: Criminals use Amazon Christmas gifts as a decoy
Created: 12/21/2022, 9:44 am
By: Ines Baur
Fraudsters keep using WhatsApp for their criminal activities. (Iconic image) © Jens Kalaene / dpa
With an alleged special Christmas present from Amazon, criminals want to access user data.
Munich – burglaries, car and pickpocketing – the classic crimes were on the decline in 2021 according to crime statistics.
On the other hand, the number of online crimes has increased.
There were around 124,000 criminal offenses recorded by the police in the field of cyber crime.
But experts say that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher.
If the password is hacked or the software is damaged, it's annoying. It can also be expensive.
New scam at WhatsApp - Criminals use Christmas presents as a decoy
Again and again criminals try to use the internet for their fraudulent activities.
Before Christmas there is now a warning for WhatsApp users.
As
chip.de
learned from several people, questionable messages are currently being sent via WhatsApp.
In these posts, an "Amazon special Christmas present" is offered.
But the special gift for Christmas is nothing more than a perfidious scam by criminals.
Anyone who falls for it and clicks on the link will not come to Amazon.
"If you click on the link in the message, it is automatically forwarded to the user in the contact list," says the computer magazine.
A chip editor would also have received this WhatsApp message because a friend had opened the link.
There are always scams circulating on WhatsApp.
If things go really wrong, thousands of euros can be lost.
However, new WhatsApp scams can be seen through
If you take a closer look at the message and the built-in link, you will notice one thing.
Strictly speaking, it cannot be a real message from Amazon.
"For one thing, large corporations will never write to you about such actions via a messenger," say the experts at
Chip.
On the other hand, the built-in link is a clear indication that it cannot be a real message.
These are always sent from official domains such as “amazon.de” or “amazon.com”.
Those affected who have received a corresponding message should not click on the link.
It is advisable to delete the message directly.
It also makes sense to inform the sender of the message.
With such phishing links, there is always a risk that data will be stolen or so-called malware will be installed on the device.
Scams via WhatsApp and the Internet are increasing rapidly
Insurance companies and, to some extent, the IT industry are benefiting from the increase in online crime.
In a company survey by the British specialist insurer Hiscox, more than half of the IT companies in Germany reported an increase in the number of orders this year to remedy their corporate customers’ weaknesses in cyber security.