Criminals are currently taking advantage of the perceived uncertainty regarding the payment of the energy cost flat rate of 300 euros decided by the federal government. For this purpose, so-called “phishing emails” are sent, which supposedly come from the Sparkasse and ask the recipient to click on the link contained in the email and enter personal data there. ( We reported about it here )
In the fraudsters' letters, potential victims usually find sentences like: "In order to be able to determine your identity and your right to a payout, we need confirmation of the data you provided when you created your checking account in one of our branches."

In another scam, the fraudsters send SMS messages that supposedly come from the “Federal Ministry of Finance” or “Federal Ministry of Finance”, where they ask the recipients to verify themselves. The link contained in the SMS also leads to a “phishing website” where the personal data provided is collected. This data can be misused to commit further crimes. Identity theft of the victims often occurs. ( We reported about it here )

The police warn against following the link contained in the email or SMS. It is a scam. As a matter of principle, both banking institutions and the Federal Ministry of Finance never ask you to disclose personal data via email or SMS.
If you have received such a “phishing message”, you should proceed as follows:
- Do not follow any link in the email or SMS;
- Do not reply to the message;
- For emails, move them to the spam folder;
- For SMS, block the sender phone number and delete the SMS.
Source: Own research, police headquarters
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