As of: February 26, 2024, 5:12 a.m
By: Cefina Gomez
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New scams are becoming public again and again: The police are alerted and warn not to share sensitive information via the WhatsApp messenger.
Kassel – WhatsApp is considered the most popular messenger service in Germany.
According to the
Federal Network Agency
's 2023 consumer survey , 92 percent say they use WhatsApp.
Only 36 percent of respondents use Facebook Messenger and 27 percent use Instagram Direct Messages.
However, fraudsters have also discovered the online communication service.
The police warn users.
Police warn of WhatsApp scammers
“Hi dad, my cell phone was stolen, so I have a new number” – a fraudulent message could go something like this.
Police warn that WhatsApp thieves are cleverly impersonating family members to even gain access to sensitive credit card and banking information.
Police warn of a bold WhatsApp scam.
© Weronika Peneshko/dpa
WhatsApp scammers: This is how the rip-off works
According to the press release from the
Ludwigslust police
, the fraudsters act cleverly by posing as close family members.
In addition to cash, criminals would also swindle credit card and bank information.
As the police report, such a case was only reported in Plau on February 19th.
The fraudsters contacted the victim via text message and posed as their biological son using a new phone number.
Further communication took place via WhatsApp, after which the alleged son asked for a money transfer.
Completely unaware, the victim then sent an amount of 900 euros.
But that wasn't enough: the brazen thieves then also asked for a photo of the credit card.
When the fraudsters then asked about approval for international payment transactions, the victim became suspicious, blocked the credit card and reported it to the police.
Such incidents are not an isolated case: a resident of the Baltic Sea recently fell for a perfidious fraud scam through an alleged investment advisor.
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This is how you can protect yourself from criminal activity in WhatsApp
In order to see through such scams in good time, you should not naively trust unknown numbers.
“You should always initially suspect that strangers are strangers,” advises the police.
In addition, those affected should never order unaudited financial transactions.
Anyone who receives demands for money from strange numbers should always pay attention and check whether it is really the supposed family member.
This could be checked by asking questions that can only be answered by the relative or by contacting supposedly old telephone numbers or social media accounts.
In addition, those affected should never allow themselves to be put under pressure and, if in doubt, consult other family members.
Buyers should also exercise caution when shopping online on Amazon and Ebay.
In order to better protect privacy, the messenger WhatsApp recently announced that it would restrict screenshots.
(cg)