Once again, people from Waldeck-Frankenberg have fallen victim to scammers who use the Whatsapp messenger service, pretend to be relatives and ask for a money transfer.
Allendorf-Eder – The criminal police in Korbach takes these cases as an opportunity to remind the citizens of the Waldeck-Frankenberg district of this scam and to warn against it. The perpetrators’ approach is similar to that of the grandchildren’s trick, explains police spokesman Dirk Richter.
In one of the current cases from Waldeck-Frankenberg, a 74-year-old from Allendorf-Eder became the victim on Sunday, July 24: He received a message via Whatsapp – allegedly from his son. He described an emergency and urgently asked for a transfer of 2000 euros. The father believed the message and transferred the money. When he was able to speak to his son personally on Monday, he found that he had transferred the 2,000 euros to scammers. He informed his bank, which is now trying to reverse the transfer.
The course of this scam is always the same, the police explain: In the first text message, you introduce yourself as a close relative, usually a son or daughter, and explain that you have a new cell phone number because the old cell phone is broken or lost. This is followed by a story about a financial emergency, with the amounts being demanded usually being in the four-digit range. In contrast to the grandchild trick, the money is not picked up by strangers, but transferred by the victims.
To prevent such fraud, the police give the following tips:
- If someone you know calls you on an unfamiliar number, don’t save the number automatically. Check with the person you know on the old number.
- Always be suspicious of money claims, whether by post, email, phone or messenger services such as Whatsapp.
- Pay attention to the security settings of the message service you use.
- Do not under any circumstances allow yourself to be put under pressure and tempted to make a hasty transfer.
- Inform relatives about the scams and make yourself available as a contact person for such cases; well-informed people are not so easily unsettled and can assess situations correctly.
- If you are a victim: Inform the police and your bank so that payments may be stopped or reversed.
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