And another WhatsApp scam in which a large sum was stolen. This time an elderly woman in southern Hesse became a victim of criminals.

The WhatsApp scam in detail

On Tuesday (August 9), a 63-year-old woman received a “WhatsApp” message from a strange number. The unknown perpetrators posed as the lady's daughter. They wrote to her that this was her new phone number and the old number could be deleted. The alleged daughter wrote to the lady that she urgently had to pay a bill but could not log into her online banking because of the new cell phone number. She was therefore asked to transfer money. In order to help her supposed daughter, the 63-year-old lady transferred the money with good intentions.

The fraudsters contacted the woman again via messenger on Wednesday (August 10). Apparently online banking still doesn't work. Therefore you need more money for a second bill. The woman was surprised that her daughter needed money again and wanted to talk to her on the phone. The criminals actually called her but didn't say a word and then wrote a message saying something was wrong with the cell phone. Despite doubts arising, a second amount was then transferred.

When the brazen fraudsters tried to get the lady to make a transfer for a third time on Thursday (August 11th), the woman became suspicious and contacted the police. As a result of the two transfers of this WhatsApp fraud, the lady suffered financial damage of over 3,000 euros.

The police warn

In this context, the police warn again and give the following information:

“Criminals take advantage of people’s good faith and willingness to help. They often succeed in deceiving people and thereby obtaining their wealth. If people you know contact you on an unknown number, do not save the number automatically and ask the person you know on the old number. You should always be suspicious of requested money transfers via WhatsApp and other messengers and question them carefully. Also check your security settings for the messaging service you use.”

South Hesse Police

Source: South Hesse Police Headquarters

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