Since Monday (May 9th), fraudsters have been increasingly active again in the Bergstrasse region using the WhatsApp scam. The 67-year-old from Lampertheim believed the short message from her supposed son and arranged two transfers totaling over 3,000 euros. After the brazen perpetrators tried it a third time, the fraud was noticed. However, the money previously transferred is gone.

In other cases, the people of Bergstrasse in Lorsch and Biblis were on guard. It remained an attempt.

Cases are increasing

Commissariat 23 in Heppenheim has reported a sharp increase in reports in the last few days. Since the beginning of the month, reports have increased by around 20 cases; Ascending trend. Investigators expect reports to increase in the coming weeks and months.

The police therefore strongly warn against transferring money based solely on a WhatsApp message. Be sure to speak to the person asking for the money. To do this, call the number that you know - because the fake story about the broken cell phone can be easily seen through in a matter of seconds.

Another request from your police:
The IBAN sent is an important link to the perpetrators. Please make a note of this exact number. The perpetrators then delete the IBAN in the chat history in order to cover up traces.

Grandchildren trick / “Hello Mom”

Fraudsters often use this scam to try to cheat victims out of money. What was first known as the "grandchild trick" because scammers often posed as grandchildren is now often referred to as the "Hello Mom" ​​scam. In many cases, the criminals pose as a daughter or son who is in need and asks for financial support. Our articles on this can be found HERE .

This might also be of interest: “Haven’t been reported for a long time” – be careful of random WhatsApp contacts!

Source: press portal


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