The perpetrators steal personal data such as name, date of birth, address, credit card or account numbers in order to conclude contracts at someone else's expense.

Identity theft via leaks from major providers

The fraudsters obtain sensitive consumer data via phishing emails or data leaks from major providers. That's why the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office and Consumer Center urge caution when dealing with passwords, PINs, bank details or credit card details.

A typical example case

A consumer has never ordered anything online. She doesn't even have an email address. She is all the more astonished when a debt collection agency demands payment from her for several online orders. The perpetrators only needed the name and address to order goods, which they then intercepted from the postal delivery person. Since the orders were placed on account and the consumer had no knowledge of the invoices, the online shop commissioned a debt collection company to collect the purchase prices.

How should victims behave?

The State Criminal Police Office and the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center give tips on how to behave in the event of identity theft:

  • The house bank should be informed immediately. To be on the safe side, the affected accounts and/or cards should be blocked and any transactions that have not yet taken place should be stopped (block emergency call 116 116).
  • Anyone who suspects they have become a victim of identity theft should report the fraud to the police.
  • Platforms and companies behind the accounts should be informed of the fraud and the accounts should be temporarily blocked. The passwords of the affected accounts should then be replaced with secure passwords.
  • If incorrect transfers occurred, identity theft should be reported to Schufa and other credit agencies.
  • Unauthorized debits should be reversed by the bank or credit card company.
  • If false messages have been sent via email or social media accounts, for example with malware or suspicious links, the recipients should be warned immediately.

If debt collection companies then contact you with payment requests, you can dispute the claim sample letter

Further information from the consumer advice center on the subject can be found here . The police also provide information here .

Source:

Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office
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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 )