Testing apps and earning up to 1000 euros a month – that sounds very interesting for many job seekers. But the security authorities warn: These offers are often criminal. They are used to steal personal information and use it for criminal purposes. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) and the Customs Criminal Police Office (ZKA) have once again discovered this in their joint fight against online drug trafficking and have published a joint warning today.
The “test accounts” are real accounts!
Job seekers who respond to such job advertisements are recruited by criminals as supposed test subjects. The victims are suggested that they are testing apps from various online banks.
As a result, they are tricked into opening online checking accounts with various banks. However, contrary to what the perpetrators make the victims believe, the accounts are not test accounts, but real bank details.
Accounts are used for illegal purposes!
The victims either receive email addresses and passwords from the perpetrators to open the accounts or are asked to submit the login details after opening the accounts for “analysis purposes”. In the next step, the perpetrators change the passwords so that they themselves have full access to the accounts.
The perpetrators use these, for example, as deposit accounts for orders in the online drug trade. This allows them to conceal the origin of illegally obtained funds and makes them impossible for the police to investigate. Because their trail only leads to the regular account holders - and thus to those who have made themselves available as supposed app testers.
The security authorities warn:
People who accept such offers, for example found in newspaper advertisements or online, to work as app testers, risk having their personal data published on the Internet and misused for sometimes serious crimes at home and abroad become! In addition, as account holders, they themselves can become the focus of police investigations, for example because of allegations of money laundering.
The police advise:
- Pay attention to the seriousness of the company that offers part-time work so that you do not run the risk of being prosecuted for illegal activities. You can recognize dubious offers if contact is made via messenger services or if there are noticeable spelling and grammatical errors in the ad. Above-average earnings for simple jobs should also be a warning sign.
- As a general rule, never disclose sensitive data such as identification documents, account details or other personal data on the Internet if the legitimate use of this data cannot be verified.
- If you have fallen victim to such a fraudulent scam, please contact your local police station directly.
Article image: Pexels
Source: Federal Criminal Police Office
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