The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warns against fraud by phone and email. Unknown people are currently claiming that employees of “Revolut Ltd.” to be a London bank. BaFin allegedly commissioned them to pay out credit to consumers, for example in Bitcoin. Personal data is required for this. However, BaFin emphasizes that consumers should not get involved and, if in doubt, should contact the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority itself.
Scammers use previous scam
According to BaFin, in one case the senders introduced themselves as “Alejandra Rodriguez” and used the – incorrect – email address [email protected]. In terms of content, the scammers use a double trick: They not only claim that they would pay out credit on behalf of BaFin, but also that they would compensate consumers who had become victims of the online platform “X-Markets”.
In fact, in mid-2021, BaFin warned, among other things, about the fraudulent trading platform www.xmarkets.com. Anyone who has heard of this could be aware of the alleged offer from Revolut Ltd. initially find plausible. But BaFin makes it clear that it generally does not commission third parties when it comes to fraudulent platforms.
BaFin: If in doubt, ask
According to the Federal Institute, people who fraudulently pretend to be BaFin or its agents are mostly after consumers’ money. They get that, for example, through fees that their victims have to pay in advance for an alleged service. Or the scammers collect personal information that they hope to use to make money.
The general rule is: be careful with offers for which BaFin appears to be responsible. Consumers should never react to this, but report it to the police or the prosecutor. If in doubt, it also helps to ask BaFin directly whether they have contacted the consumers. The Federal Agency offers a free consumer hotline on 0800 2 100 500.
Phishing: common scam
The e-mails and calls that appear to come from BaFin are phishing attacks. Phishing scammers try to get sensitive data such as passwords or email addresses. To do this, they pretend to be a reputable company, such as a bank, a well-known social network or a widespread e-mail provider.
There are clues to spot phishing. For example spelling mistakes, cryptic links and sender addresses or threats. In addition, reputable companies do not ask their customers by email or phone to disclose data or even make payments. If in doubt, it is worth asking directly. Further information at heise tipps+tricks: What is phishing? Recognize and protect yourself against phishing emails.
(gref)