WhatsApp: Fraudsters swindle up to 16,000 euros with a grandchild trick – the police warn

• Cyber ​​criminals try to swindle money via WhatsApp. They use the grandson trick for this.
• Parents and grandparents are led to believe that their child or grandchild is in an emergency situation.
• In Germany, several such cases occur regularly. The police are currently warning of a new wave.

Cybercriminals like to use the Messenger WhatsApp for their purposes. With scams they fool their victims nationwide and tie them money. The grandchild trick is particularly popular.

Just recently, a 60-year-old was relieved of 1,900 euros in Wittenförden near Schwerin. In Ludwigsburg, the scammers tricked a 75-year-old and stole a total of 16,000 euros. A 70-year-old who lives in Neukirchen-Vluyn on the Lower Rhine also fell for the scam and transferred a four-digit amount to the alleged grandson. The list can go on and on. The police warn almost every day about the grandchild trick. So be careful.

This is how the trick works

You receive a message via WhatsApp from an unknown number. In this, the cybercriminals write something like: “Hello grandma, my cell phone is broken and this is my new number.” You can also be addressed as “Mother”, “Father”, “Grandpa”, etc. If you react to this message, an emergency situation is initially feigned.

This is how you protect yourself

It is then explained that a certain amount of money urgently needs to be transferred to a bank account. You should NOT do this under any circumstances. You can find out how you can protect yourself from the grandchild trick on WhatsApp in the linked instructions.

Since you’ve already fallen for it, you should take the following measures:

How did cybercriminals get your number?

Corresponding data can be bought on the Darknet. They mostly come from data leaks from manufacturers, Internet providers, etc. We’ll tell you how you can check whether your phone number is contained in a data leak. If you are annoyed with fraudulent messages particularly often, it might be advisable to change your phone number.