Published: Monday, 05/02/2022 15:00
Fraudsters are currently particularly active in the Ruhr area. They try to swindle our money with a wide variety of methods.
There are currently particularly frequent calls on the mobile phone from an alleged police station. Automated voice – mostly in English – prompts to press a key. Experts assume that this will lead to a forwarding to a number that causes high costs. How the scammers get our numbers is unclear. Often, computers just pick at random. The so-called grandchild trick is also more widespread. Scammers often put older people under massive pressure with fabricated stories and try to swindle large sums of money. In the meantime, this scam is also used via messages via WhatsApp. Again and again, callers pretend to be Microsoft employees and try to get personal data. Last but not least, letters from alleged debt collection agencies are also increasingly circulating. They ask for a certain sum to be transferred to an account. Failure to do so could result in bailiffs, foreclosure or attachment of pension claims. The advice of consumer advocates and police:
- always be skeptical about unknown numbers
- Do a “background check” on stories that are served up
- Block suspicious numbers
- Do not respond to letters from alleged collection agencies
- Sensitize older people
- If in doubt, call the police
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