Debt collection blacklist: The VZB provides information on its website about fraudulent letters from supposed debt collection companies. Using an IBAN search, those affected can identify accounts that are being used unfairly and are thus prevented from making unnecessary payments. The number of hits on the website is increasing rapidly; in 2022 they were almost 191,000. The VZB gives an annual review.
Blacklist debt collection: Prevention works
The VZB's warnings are now reaching numerous people. The debt collection blacklist had almost 191,000 clicks in 2022. This is an increase of 78 percent compared to the previous year. In 2020 there were just under 2,900 page views.
“We are sure that many payments to fraudulent accounts were prevented by our information. This encourages us to continue to monitor the market and react quickly in order to be able to warn those affected in good time,” says Stefanie Kahnert, lawyer at VZB.

Fake debt collection letter in the mailbox or mailbox
Consumers across Germany are regularly harassed with payment requests that come from fake debt collection companies.
“The letters make those affected believe that there is an outstanding claim, for example from a lottery contract. “Many consumers are intimidated by these letters and pay the required amount of several hundred euros to non-existent companies,” explains Kahnert.
Blacklist warns of accounts currently being used fraudulently
The Schwarzliste Debt Collection website provides information about the domestic and foreign account details currently used by fraudsters, which are known to the VZB through consumer information. In 2022 alone, the VZB recorded 400 reports of fake debt collection letters. Kahnert advises not to pay hastily: “If you receive a payment request from a supposed debt collection agency, you can check the IBAN specified in the cover letter on our website .”
Payments at home and abroad
The fake demands are usually intended to be transferred to people abroad, but increasingly also to German accounts. This is obviously a lucrative business for the criminals. In 2022, after evaluating the data collected by the VZB, new bank accounts from ten European countries were used. 74 percent of the accounts used for the fraud came from abroad. The frontrunner was Greece - this country accounted for a third of the reported accounts - followed by Romanian and British accounts.
The VZB also identified German bank accounts in the course of 2022: 26 percent of the reported accounts were in domestic banks. Particularly noticeable here were Deutsche Bank AG and Postbank – a branch of Deutsche Bank AG – followed by Solaris Bank. To this end, the VZB was also in dialogue with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and reported affected domestic accounts to the respective banks.
Consumers who, despite the information on the VZB website, are unsure whether there is a fake debt collection letter can seek individual advice from the VZB.
- On-site or telephone advice, appointment required on 0331 / 98 22 999 5 (Mon to Fri, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or online at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/terminbuchung ,
- E-mail advice at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/emailberatung
Also read:
booking.com targeted by cyber attacks
Tax certificate 2022: Warning about this SMS
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