They were then asked to send verification codes and later even bank transfers to other people's accounts. This scam is still going on and the perpetrators are trying again with a personal-sounding text message :
Hello mom/dad, my SIM card is broken. This is my new cell phone number. You can save them! Send me a message via WhatsApp straight away to my new number… +49 178……..
So far, the first contacts for the scam have already been made with a foreign/new mobile phone number via WhatsApp. Now the perpetrators first send a plausible-sounding SMS in the hope that the recipient will believe it and change the appropriate contact and write to them themselves.
Once the perpetrators have made it this far, the other well-known WhatsApp messages arrive in which the perpetrators describe problems with online banking due to the new phone number and need immediate help with an urgent transfer. The money would then be transferred back to the “parents” promptly.
Anyone who complies with this request without checking has usually transferred several hundred or even thousands of euros to unknown people. The chance of getting the money back is slim. After just a short time, the transfers can no longer be stopped. In addition, the recipient accounts are not only located in Germany. Foreign accounts are also typical. The accounts themselves were organized in advance by the perpetrators.
There are several options for the perpetrators here. So they always manage to set up bank accounts with forged documents or misused data (e.g. scanned/photographed ID cards), which are requested as proof of authenticity in classified (sales) or real estate advertisements, for example. Even people who were recruited for job offers over the Internet are later misused by the perpetrators as so-called financial agents for money laundering. Bank accounts that have fallen into the hands of perpetrators through phishing can also be affected.
How do the perpetrators get the cell phone numbers?
The perpetrators manage to organize mobile phone numbers or WhatsApp accounts in advance. Either a mobile phone contract is activated beforehand or an existing WhatsApp account is misused through clever measures (Our articles on the scam with the verification codes here and here ).
The perpetrators get the recipient data, i.e. the potential victims, from various sources on the Internet or the Darknet. These can be hacked databases at companies , address books of devices infected with malware (e.g. smartphones or computers) or data that people themselves publish on the Internet (e.g. via social media, homepages, etc.). Even a simple address list (e.g. contact list of a school class/kindergarten) can, in the wrong hands, lead to personal approaches from perpetrators.
Who are the perpetrators and where do they come from?
This cannot always be said clearly, as the perpetrators can usually operate worldwide. In addition, the perpetrators do not have to act alone. They are often well connected and use each other’s skills. Numerous options for anonymization (VPN, crypto currencies, use of financial agents, call ID spoofing, etc.) are used. investigative work is correspondingly complex .
What can I do if I have fallen for the scam?
If money has already been transferred in any way, you should inform your bank/credit institution as soon as possible.
However, a few minutes/hours could already be too late. Take screenshots of the conversation (smartphones have different key combinations depending on the make, model and operating system). File a report with your local police station or use your local online watchdog .
How can I protect myself from this?
- If you are informed of a family member/friend's new mobile phone number via a message/SMS, verify this written statement using alternative means. Call the phone numbers you already know and question the statement in the SMS message. Do not call the new number, as the perpetrators often do not answer or may have additional tricks to convince you of the authenticity of the statement.
- Don’t let alleged problems (smartphone broken, “rejecting” the call, urgent emergency situation, other excuses…) stop you from checking.
As a rule, the speeches in the news are impersonal (“Hello mom, hello dad”) and without naming the alleged child. Nevertheless, it can happen that the perpetrators, similar to the grandchild trick, elicit a name from the person being written to or that the perpetrators have data sources from which a name can be identified. - Be careful if you have received an unsolicited 6-digit verification code and a contact (possibly known to you) asks you to pass on this code. This measure runs the risk of handing over your account to an unknown perpetrator. You should therefore also ensure that your account is properly protected (see the following tips from WhatsApp on account security).
- Do not transfer money to anyone you have not verified yourself using alternative means. (An unknown SMS or WhatsApp message should not be considered verification in this case).
- If necessary, question things from the news writer that only real friends/family members would know or ask trick questions (e.g. fake first names).
- Block the phone numbers that are recognized as incorrect in your phone/messenger account.
- Avoid personal information online as much as possible. The less data (e.g. telephone numbers, email addresses, etc.) you publish yourself, the less likely perpetrators will be able to find it. However, this does not protect against customer databases in which your data can also be found being hacked. Tips for this can be found here .
- Always use different and secure passwords .
Is only WhatsApp affected?
The scam is currently taking place via the messenger WhatsApp with a previous SMS. However, other messenger services or chats could also be used, so that the prevention measures mentioned here are generally valid.
Mimikama: SAVE, COPY, SHARE!
At this point we have created an image for you that you can copy and forward via WhatsApp. It is intended to protect your parents and grandparents from becoming victims of such a nasty scam.
Source: Information from the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office
Notes:
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 )