Call center scammers tried on Wednesday from a 79-year-old woman to steal a low four-digit amount of money using a WhatsApp scam. The unknown perpetrators had pretended to the woman that her daughter was in an emergency situation and thus got the woman to transfer money. The police headquarters in Lower Franconia warns of a new variant of the so-called call center fraud.
On Wednesday afternoon, the 79-year-old woman received a message via WhatsApp from an unknown number. Previously unknown fraudsters had pretended to be the lady’s daughter with the message and claimed that it was the new cell phone number. Under the pretext of an urgent bill to be settled, the alleged daughter asked her mother for help. The scammers acted very cleverly and finally got the 79-year-old to transfer a low four-digit amount to an account. It is only thanks to the good reaction of the victim’s house bank that the fraud was discovered and the transfer reversed, according to a press release from the police headquarters in Lower Franconia.
WhatsApp messages from supposed relatives throughout Lower Franconia
In the case of corresponding cases of fraud, potential victims of fraud across Lower Franconia currently receive a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. In the message, the perpetrators then write, for example: “Hello grandma, my cell phone is broken and this is my new number.” As soon as the victim reacts to the message, an emergency situation is feigned in analogy to the well-known “grandchild trick” and explained that an amount of money urgently needs to be transferred to a bank account. Usually several thousand euros are required here.
In the further course of the message, the money demand is justified by the fact that one’s own mobile phone is broken and therefore no online transfers can be made. But there was an urgent bill that had to be paid urgently and urgently. The money would of course be paid back as soon as possible. It should be noted that the scammers are extremely skilful in conducting conversations via text message and build up pressure on their victims in a targeted manner. The scam initially appears credible and leads to the transfer of the requested amount of money.
The police headquarters in Lower Franconia advises caution
The Lower Franconia police warns all citizens of this scam. Anyone who receives such messages from supposed family members or people close to them should under no circumstances transfer money to a bank account – whether at home or abroad. Instead, an attempt should be made to contact this family member by telephone using the previously known number. If it turns out to be an attempt at fraud, the chat history should not be deleted and the police should be notified.
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