Be careful with incoming emails!

The Lower Saxony police warn against cybercriminals who, for example, exploit the Yellow Business Directory!

Hardly a day goes by since May 25th when there isn't an email in the inbox informing the recipient about the relevant changes due to the current General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Most of the time it doesn't just stay with one or a few emails. The more newsletters or business relationships you have on the Internet, the more GDPR emails you will receive. Perpetrators are now also taking advantage of this fact.

Consumer advocates and the police are already warning about the dangers. We would also like to disseminate this information here in the guide.

As a rule, the internet user is informed that due to the new GDPR they now have to confirm receipt of newsletters, for example. Companies are obliged to do this in accordance with legal requirements. To do this, they will either be asked to click a confirmation button so that they can continue to receive the newsletter in the future. Alternatively, emails are sent that state that if you do not want any changes and agree to the contents of the email, you do not have to continue.

Customers of, for example, online shops or other online offers usually receive a similar email. You are also offered information about the stored data.

The danger now is that cybercriminals will exploit these opportunities and send spam, malware or link to phishing sites via emails with a similar format.

You should always be careful and pay attention to the following things when receiving such emails:

  • Never open attachments or links from emails that you do not know or expect.
  • If you receive a GDPR email, before clicking on a link, consider whether you are actually a customer of this company (e.g. for receiving newsletters).
  • Consider whether you would actually like to receive information from the company in the future. If necessary, you can prevent yourself from receiving any further emails by “not clicking”.
  • If you are asked to “click” on a confirmation button, check where the button’s link leads. If necessary, you can use the mouse-over effect (move the mouse pointer over the button without clicking) to see what the link target is. If you are unsure here, please do not click. Alternatively, go to the provider's homepage that you are familiar with. You may then need to log in there.
  • If you need to log in to the website after clicking in the email, check the link carefully. Are you really on the right website, the one you also know as a customer?
  • Do not open attachments. There is always a risk of malware.

Example “Yellow Business Directory”

An interesting example was sent to us by a visitor to our website. A lawyer from Lower Saxony received an email asking him to check his own data for the “Yellow Business Directory”. The recipient's data was already included in the email and a PDF file with a contract was also attached. Here the senders ask the recipient to confirm the data there and send it back signed (e.g. by fax).

Anyone who thinks of the typical “Yellow Pages” and signs without reading is falling for the senders’ scam. The form is simply an offer for a contract that does not yet exist.

If this is signed, you can quickly look for a suitable lawyer to revoke this contract. Special legal regulations may apply here, as the offer is generally aimed at traders. But clubs or other people can also receive this offer unsolicited and fall into the trap. The senders probably got the data from websites or other online offers.

Sample email (anonymized by the police):

MIMIKAMA
Source: Lower Saxony Police

Example contract (anonymized by the police):

MIMIKAMA
Source: Lower Saxony Police


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )