As of: January 19, 2024, 9:33 p.m
By: Nico Reiter
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Fraudsters are using WhatsApp for their latest scam.
Now they are targeting people who have been victims of fraud in the past.
Munich – The Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office is drawing attention to a particularly sophisticated scam on WhatsApp.
Unfortunately, fraud attempts via SMS or messaging have become increasingly common in recent years.
They are also widely used on WhatsApp.
As a rule, the perpetrators are after data or money.
A well-known example is the grandchild trick, in which strangers pretend to be family members and ask for money.
Fraudsters pose as police and use data from past criminal cases
In the latest scam, perpetrators are re-targeting previous victims.
The number disguises itself as an official authority, for example the police.
The perpetrators were already involved in previous fraud cases.
This gives them access to the associated ads and data and uses it to make their message seem credible.
For example, correct names and damage amounts from past incidents are given.
The perpetrators use this trick to try to obtain new account details, ID details and access details or transfers.
Links from fake websites are also sent.
Recipients are asked not to provide any data or open any links.
Such incidents should be reported to the police.
If data has already been disclosed or money has been transferred, a report should be filed.
How to identify scammers in WhatsApp messages
The screenshot shows what a typical message in this scam looks like.
The text does not come from the police, as claimed, but from an unknown number.
Some numbers that have been used in connection with fraud are already known.
In addition, the police would not send information about criminal cases via a messenger app.
This fraudster trick on Whatsapp targets past victims © Screenshot: www.polizei-praevention.de/Cschem/Imago
The choice of words also suggests that the message does not come from an official body: “We finally got our hands on this copy.
Madame S*** is aware of the facts and is being charged with fraud on the Internet and breach of trust.” The addition is particularly outrageous: “We remind you to be vigilant when purchasing on the Internet so as not to fall into the hands of these fraudsters .”
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Extreme caution should be exercised when messages appear strange.
The scammers are always inventing new tricks to trick their victims.
Instead of being a grandchild or a police officer, some criminals pose as a boss.
A fraudster in Munich got hold of several hundred thousand euros.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
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