Fraudsters use video identification procedures for identity theft

The Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office and consumer advice center warn against identity theft

It starts with tempting offers: a job at a well-known company, an affordable apartment in the competitive rental market, welcome additional income as a product tester. The only thing these very different offers have in common is that the supposed providers want to get consumers to use a video identification process. The State Criminal Police Office and consumer advice center warn that an account is set up in their name at a direct bank without the consumer's knowledge. This account is then used by criminals for money laundering or online fraud.

Criminal consequences for the victims

As a result, the unsuspecting victims are exposed to serious criminal charges if illegal transactions were carried out under their stolen identities. The victims of illegal transactions first turn their claims to the alleged account holder as the perpetrator. It can be very difficult to defend yourself against this. It becomes even more threatening if the account is actually used for money laundering:

“The question then arises for those affected: Was it naive of me to believe the perpetrators’ explanations and promises? Should I have realized that something was wrong? Because so-called carelessness can also be punished in this context!”

says Julia Gerhards, consultant for consumer law and data protection at the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center.

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The hope of getting your dream job makes you less suspicious

Seen from the outside, the procedure may seem obviously dubious at first: consumers send in their application documents for the alleged job offer. Unfortunately, a personal interview is not possible, so applicants are asked to prove their identity “at a partner bank” “for security reasons.” For example, the online identification process of a direct bank, the video identification process, should be used for this purpose. However, anyone who is urgently looking for a job or has the supposed dream job in mind is less suspicious at this point. The banks affected by the scam in the past now assert that it is now consistently pointed out in every identification process that there are no cooperations within which people are asked to confirm their identity via video call.

Criminals can be convincing

But the criminals keep finding new plausible explanations to convince consumers to carry out the video identification process. The banks' security warnings are particularly cleverly circumvented by not being deceptive about opening an account. Example of rental apartments: Consumers are explained that it is about opening a deposit account for the desired rental apartment. Or, for example, product testers: Consumers are led to believe that they should be testers and test exactly this video identification process. So it still applies: it's better to look twice.

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The most important tips and information from the State Criminal Police Office and consumer advice center:

• Never agree to carry out a video identification procedure at a bank unless you want to open an account there yourself.
• Be careful about disclosing personal information and sending copies of your ID or photos that also show your ID.
• Never send scanned official documents (copies of ID, registration certificates, etc.) or similar sensitive information (salary statements, Schufa, etc.) to unknown people.
• Before doing so, check carefully whether the job offer and the email address or portal provided actually come from the company mentioned.
• If you fear you have fallen for a scam, contact the police immediately and inform the bank.

Please send inquiries to:

Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office
Press Office

Telephone: 06131-65-2009/-2053
Fax: 06131-65-2125
Email: [email protected]
www.polizei.rlp.de/lka

Source: Press portal
Article image: Rhineland-Palatinate consumer advice center