WhatsApp is being exploited by scammers: you should never trust these messages


Scammers have been trying to steal money from phone calls with fake stories for months. Recently, the perpetrators became more active again – with a new scam via messenger services like WhatsApp.

Fraud attempts over the phone have recently increased significantly. As the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) informed the German Press Agency, criminals stole money by posing as relatives of their victims when making phone calls. According to police departments, the perpetrators also used WhatsApp messages.

According to LKA information, the cases of fraud in Lower Saxony alone increased enormously in March. The number of attempted and committed crimes was in the upper three-digit range – with a total damage of over 400,000 euros. In January and February, the numbers fell drastically compared to December 2021.

The authorities have been aware of the new scam, for example via the WhatsApp messenger service, since mid-2021. Since then, the numbers have been collected retroactively to the beginning of last year. Accordingly, there has been a continuous increase in cases since the middle of the year. At the end of the year, the number was in the three-digit range. In almost 30 percent of the cases, the perpetrators were successful, it said. The damage was therefore a little over 200,000 euros.

Numbers on telephone fraud are not recorded individually in the police crime statistics. Because the police have to use incomplete figures from an internal processing system for the data, they are only used as a guide.

The police recently found several cases in the districts of Celle, Hameln-Pyrmont, Wilhelmshaven and Rotenburg in which the scammers contacted their victims via WhatsApp. The perpetrators often pretended to be daughters or sons and wrote that they were in need of money. In some cases, sweepstakes or police investigations were faked. Identifying the perpetrators is difficult, even if their bank accounts are known. The Hameln-Prymont police said they were mostly anonymous.

“If someone pretends to be a relative via messenger services, this should always be checked in a personal phone call,” warned the Celle police, for example. The LKA also advises not to react to fraudulent messages and to secure them with screenshots for later display. In no case should money be transferred to unknown accounts.

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