A supposedly close relative gets in touch via WhatsApp, but with an unknown phone number. The explanation for this is the loss, a defect in the phone or a new cell phone contract. After a few irrelevant messages, the supposed relative asks for an urgent bank transfer to be made on his behalf. It is often claimed that online banking with the new number is not yet active. The money should then usually be repaid easily at the next meeting.

WhatsApp scams are always successful

Despite the regular warnings, the perpetrators always manage to find victims who transfer money in good faith. On Monday (May 30, 2022), a 73-year-old woman from Much met who transferred 2,400 euros to an unknown bank account.

A 71-year-old Hennefer woman was luckier. A bank employee accepted the woman's transfer order on behalf of an alleged great-niece and immediately became suspicious. She spoke to the 71-year-old about the transfer of around 3,500 euros and described her concerns. A call to the actual great-niece at the previously known number shed light on the matter. This meant the fraud could be prevented. Thank you, unknown bank employees!

In another case, a 68-year-old woman transferred around 1,800 euros to a third-party account after her alleged son asked her to do so via WhatsApp in the past few days. As is usual with this scam, the “son” contacted the 68-year-old via a new cell phone number. Because of the new number, he was having problems with his online banking and therefore asked for a transfer. The 68-year-old subsequently carried out this. However, when she received another request from the supposed son via WhatsApp shortly afterwards and he asked for another transfer, the woman became suspicious. She contacted her real son herself, whereupon the fraud was exposed.

In the case of a 67-year-old woman, the fraudsters posed as the woman's daughter. Apparently her cell phone is broken, which is why she has a new number. The 67-year-old initially had no suspicions and saved the alleged daughter's new phone number in her cell phone. A little later, the supposed daughter asked to settle two outstanding bills. She was on the road herself and couldn't do it. This seemed plausible to the 67-year-old and she transferred more than 2,500 euros to a bank account. Only when the alleged daughter asked again for a transfer of 3,400 euros did the 67-year-old become suspicious. The “real” daughter could still be reached on her “old” cell phone number. The fraud was discovered; the 67-year-old had fallen for criminals.

Police advice

  • Simply call your relative on the unknown number! If the right person contacts you, everything is fine. If not, then caution is advised.
  • If you can only communicate via message, ask something personal. Or contact the person using the phone number you know.
  • Always be suspicious when you are asked to pay money via messenger services!
  • Do not save unknown phone numbers as contacts without checking them.
  • If you hear a call that seems suspicious, tell the police immediately.
  • Be sure to contact the police if you have been a victim and file a report.

Inform relatives and friends about this scam

This WhatsApp scam has been successful for a long time. Too many people lost money because of this. It is therefore important to inform as many people as possible and tell them about this scam.

This might also be of interest: Warning from the Sparkasse about phishing SMS “pushTAN 2.0”

Source: North Rhine-Westphalia Police Press Portal , Baden-Württemberg Police Press Portal , Rhineland-Palatinate Police Press Portal


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


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 )