East Hesse Police Headquarters
East Hesse (ots)
East Hesse. Currently, scammers are again using messenger services to pretend to be close relatives to East Hessian citizens – with the aim of robbing them of their savings.
“Mom? Is that you?” With these or similar formulations, the perpetrators report to the scam on the phone. They pretend to be relatives, good friends or close family members who are in an emergency situation and ask for cash. Expensive purchases (car, kitchen, etc.) or emergencies (car accidents, etc.) are given as reasons for the financial bottleneck. The situation is always presented as extremely urgent.
Increased use of messenger services
Also in the new year, the swindlers in the eastern Hessian districts increasingly use the messenger service WhatsApp to get the savings of citizens.
The scammers write their future victims a short WhatsApp message in which they pretend to be close relatives or acquaintances whose old cell phone broke. Sometimes, however, the later victims initially received an SMS in which they were asked to contact the alleged relative on WhatsApp. In the reports, the swindlers claim that the phone number displayed and previously unknown to the victims is the new availability of the relative. Due to the defective mobile phone, the relative can no longer access his online banking, but has to make an urgent appointment transfer. He therefore asks for temporary financial support, in that the potential victims should make this transfer to an unknown recipient – often abroad. Beware, this is a trap!
Fraudsters were successful with this scam on Tuesday (January 17) with two elderly people in the districts of Fulda and Vogelsbergkreis. In both cases, they pretended to be the daughters of their later victims via WhatsApp and stole an amount in the upper three-digit to lower four-digit range.
Your police therefore urgently warns:
- Übergeben oder Überweisen Sie niemals Geld oder Wertsachen an
Ihnen unbekannte Personen oder Konten! Seien Sie insbesondere
skeptisch, wenn Sie eine Sofortüberweisung durchführen sollen.
- Seien Sie misstrauisch, wenn sich jemand am Telefon oder über
Messenger Dienste nicht selbst mit Namen vorstellt oder als
Bekannter/ Verwandter, Bankangestellter oder Polizeibeamter
beziehungsweise Person der Justiz ausgibt, den Sie als solchen
nicht erkennen!
- Speichern Sie nicht automatisch vermeintlich "neuen" Rufnummern
von Kontakten ab. Versuchen Sie erst die Personen unter den
Ihnen bekannten, "alten" Telefonnummern zu kontaktieren!
- Legen Sie einfach den Telefonhörer auf und beenden sie Kontakte
über soziale Netzwerke, sobald Ihr Gesprächspartner Geld von
Ihnen fordert!
- Rufen Sie Ihre Verwandten unter der Ihnen bekannten
Telefonnummer oder die Polizei unter der 110 an!
Trick fraud is multifaceted! The perpetrators adapt their approach to the fears of the potential victims, thereby affecting their highly personal area of life. Consequences such as withdrawal from society and a sense of shame provide con artists with a platform. Speak openly about what happened, anyone can become a victim. Well-informed people are not so easily unsettled and can correctly assess the corresponding situations.
Do not be afraid to inform the police if you suspect fraud. Information on the scam can be found on the website www.senioren-sind-auf-zack.de
Contact:
East Hesse Police Headquarters
Press and public relations
Severingstrasse 1-7, 36041 Fulda
Phone: 0661 / 105-1099
E-Mail: pressestelle.ppoh@polizei.hessen.de
(only Monday to Friday – during the day)
Central accessibility:
Phone: 0661 / 105-0
Twitter: https://twitter.com/polizei_oh
Instagram: https://instagram.com/polizei_oh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PolizeiOsthessen/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUGcNYNkgEozGyLACRu7Khw
Homepage: https://k.polizei.hessen.de/1311750197
Original content from: Osthessen Police Headquarters, transmitted by news aktuell
