Nephew trick on Whatsapp or on the phone: this is how you protect yourself

The nephew trick is a well-known method of cheating. Criminals now also use it in private chats and pretend to be their daughter or son. The goal is to reach sometimes high sums of money.

Elderly people, in particular, fall victim to the grandchild trick. While scammers used to mostly use it over the phone, they are now increasingly using it via SMS or messaging services like WhatsApp. They cheer their victims first a foreign phone number. This is said to be your child’s new number. The old cell phone was broken or lost. A short while later, the criminals send a message asking for money. They often give an emergency as a reason, such as an urgent bill that needs to be paid.

Assuming it is their own child, victims are said to voluntarily transfer three to four-digit sums of money into criminals’ accounts.

Nephew trick via WhatsApp: this is how the scam works

“Hi mom, guess whose phone went into the washing machine. You can save this number and delete the old one Consumer Center a genuine example of a fraudulent text message as part of the nephew’s trick. The messages also often contain hearts or kissing emoticons, she says Ed.

According to the consumer center, a similar message went to an elderly woman in Saxony. After saving her number, she exchanged some trivial messages with her alleged daughter. A short time later you received a transfer request from the wrong number. Her daughter still can’t access her online banking with her new smartphone, but she has an urgent bill of over 1,100 euros to pay. However, the woman became suspicious before making the move.

According to the NDR, this is not always the case. Many people have fallen for the scam and lost large sums of money. Furthermore, it is often difficult or impossible to get the money back later. Because often criminals ask for instant or real-time transfer. Then they withdraw the money as quickly as possible from the account created specifically for the scam.

The nephew’s trick goes through the phone according to the police similar off. Scammers prefer to contact older people and use harmless phrases like: “Guess who’s talking here.” Then they pretend to be grandchildren, children or other close people and ask for money. Here, too, they usually describe an urgent emergency and thus put pressure on their victims. A messenger would then collect the money directly from the victim’s home.

Prevention: how to protect yourself from your nephew’s makeup

If you receive a message from an unknown number in which someone is posing as a close person, the following applies: first call this person’s old number that you have saved. If it’s a scam, it should be exposed as soon as possible. In this case, the consumer advice center advises not to delete the fraud message, but to report it immediately.

To die Police also recommends additional measures to protect yourself from different variations of the nephew’s makeup:

• Whether it’s a phone call or an SMS, scammers usually don’t know the names of your relatives and so they try to pretend family closeness without naming names. So this is a first clue that should make you suspicious. If you’re not sure if the message is authentic, ask for the person’s name.
• You can also ask for things that only real family members would know. For example, ask for the pet’s name, favorite food, or similar details.
• The person who supposedly messages you can’t be reached on his “old” number? So it can help to talk to other relatives.
• Don’t get pressured on the phone or in chat.
• Do not disclose any financial information or family background.
• If the money has already been transferred, contact your bank immediately and ask for a return transfer.
• Block the fraudulent number. This way, criminals cannot contact you again.

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Tags: how to cheat