Scammers have developed a brazen scam to get money from SMS and WhatsApp messages. You should do this to protect yourself.
“Hello mom, this is my new number. Can you save this number and message me on WhatsApp when you see this!”. It looks something like this when scammers want to cheat their victims out of their money with the son or daughter trick. Unknown persons pretend to be the child of the person addressed and claim to have changed the number. The criminals take advantage of the parents’ trust. But how do the perpetrators go about it in detail – and how can you protect yourself against the scam of online tricksters?
First, an SMS is sent to lure potential victims. The conversation is then usually shifted to WhatsApp. First there is a brief chat back and forth to build trust, but then the criminals get straight to the point: They pretend they are in financial distress and desperately need parental support. It is often suggested to the father or mother that their child urgently needs to make a transfer, but cannot do this themselves at the moment. Then a parent should step in and transfer large amounts to accounts, some of which are foreign. The scammers are consistently successful with this. Because, although the method appears simple at first glance, according to the Bavarian consumer advice center, it works again and again. Especially from October to Christmas a peak in fraud attempts was observed.
This is what you should do when you receive a scam SMS
If a person concerned has actually transferred money, the advises policeto contact your own bank immediately in order to possibly be able to stop the money transfer. In addition, you have to save the chat history in WhatsApp as a screenshot or photo if there is fraud and you want to report it. In principle, the police recommend that you always remain suspicious of money demands, even if they come from supposed family members.
However, in order not to let it get that far in the first place, lawyer Simone Bueb from the Bavarian Consumer Advice Center has some tips. The association is well aware of the online fraudsters and their tricks, as those affected often turn to consumer protection agencies. It helps to delete the SMS message right at the beginning of the fraud attempt and block the sender in order to break off contact with the scammers. In addition, you should not save any unknown numbers as a contact, emphasizes the expert. If you want to be sure that everything is really okay with your own children, you can reach them via their supposedly old number or via the landline, says Bueb.
How to prevent fraud attempts in advance
In principle, the lawyer advises to use data such as telephone number or e-mail address sparingly, as this reduces the chances of becoming the target of such a scam. But you can never be absolutely sure, because the perpetrators don’t act in a targeted manner. According to the association, this is also noticed by the fact that all age groups are affected by the SMS messages.
Also read about this
In addition to the son/daughter trick, there is another fraud tactic that is currently occurring more and more, according to the consumer advice center. The recipient receives an SMS from an alleged parcel delivery service asking them to click on a link in order to track their shipment. However, the click does not lead to the desired result, but rather to a so-called Trojan, which can spy out sensitive data, nesting on the cell phone. To prevent this, consumer advocates advise always carefully checking the sender of SMS and e-mails and never clicking on links from unknown messages. If this happened anyway, Bueb advises deactivating the device immediately, seeking professional help to remove the Trojan and checking your bank account for possible unauthorized debits.
