Ladenburg/Rhein-Neckar district/Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. A 72-year-old was the victim of a scam on Monday, which has been spreading in recent weeks despite many public announcements and warnings. At around 10:30 a.m., the woman received a WhatsApp message said to have been sent by her daughter with a “new” number. In the course of the chat, the alleged daughter asked that an open invoice amount supposedly had to be paid and therefore asked for help. Believing they were helping their daughter, the parents then transferred several hundred euros to an account that the scammer told them. When the couple called the real daughter in the evening, they discovered the fraud. The fraud department of the Heidelberg Criminal Police Department has taken over the further investigations. The investigators repeatedly urge caution and advise distrust when WhatsApp messages arrive from alleged family members asking for money in this way.
Those addressed should not allow themselves to be put under pressure and should not reply. First of all, it should be clarified personally or via the known telephone numbers whether the sender is really a family member. You should never feel tempted to hastily transfer money to an unknown account. A completed fraud, but also an attempted fraud, should be reported immediately to the local police station.
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