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Alleged SMS from Deutsche Post: Do not click on the link in it
Photo: Till Simon Nagel / tmn
“Your package is still pending.
Please confirm your details here «: Anyone who receives a short message with such a text should be careful - and under no circumstances click on a link in the message or provide the sender with personal information.
The whole thing is a scam, fake SMS of this and similar types are currently being sent more and more.
They do not come from DHL or Deutsche Post, as claimed, but from criminals.
DHL explicitly warns of the SMS and affirms that it is fundamentally not to request any data via SMS and not to inform about the shipment status via SMS.
If you click on a link in one of the fake messages, you run the risk of downloading malware onto your smartphone.
The police crime prevention of the federal states and the federal government (ProPK) has been warning of this since mid-March.
It also points out that you should never allow your mobile phone to install a new app if such a request appears in the course of such an SMS.
To protect against unwanted subscriptions, the ProPK also advises you to have your mobile phone provider set up a so-called third-party lock (read more here).
To be on the safe side, switch to flight mode first
In the event that you were warned too late and the installation of the fraudulent app has already been approved, the ProPK recommends activating flight mode on the device "so that it cannot receive any external commands or send SMS".
Then you should call your mobile operator and inform them of the problem.
"Ask if you have already incurred costs," advises the ProPK.
She also gives those affected the following four tips:
"Call the police on 110 or go to the nearest police station."
»Save all your data, pictures, videos and possibly also your settings in a backup.«
»You should then reset your smartphone to the factory settings.
This will delete all apps and data that were not available when the phone was purchased. "
"Change all passwords, also activate two-factor authentication for all accounts that support it."
Since the last two tips in particular require a lot of effort, the ProPK apparently assumes very powerful malware that can also circumvent the security precautions of modern smartphone operating systems and spy on affected devices.
A leak full of Facebook data is a good opportunity
For criminals who are on the lookout for phone numbers actually used, a leak with a large amount of Facebook data currently offers the opportunity to steal potentially interesting numbers (read more about the leak here).
In a hacker forum 533 million mobile phone numbers were published by Facebook users.
Anyone who has not changed their mobile phone number after 2018 or 2019 and is or was active on Facebook could therefore now increasingly receive fraudulent or spam SMS.
On haveibeenpwned.com, a website of security researcher and Microsoft employee Troy Hunt, you can enter your mobile phone number and see whether it is included in the leaked record.
So far it is unclear to what extent the leak contains cell phone numbers that have never been published on Facebook by those affected.
Hauke Mormann from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center thinks the increased number of fraudulent SMS messages in the past could actually be related to the leak.
It is important to be aware of the typical features of spam emails or SMS, says Mormann: such as spelling errors or cryptic sender or link addresses, which are supposed to come from well-known companies.
Mormann says that unless you change your phone number, it is difficult to avoid phishing text messages.
In the event that you receive such a message, you should block the senders and delete the emails and SMS, advises the consumer advocate.
mbö / dpa