Fraudsters have managed to get money from people in the Günzburg and Neu-Ulm districts via messenger services. The police warn.
The police departments are currently dealing with three completed cases of fraud in the two districts Neu-Ulm and Guenzburg. Several people received messages via a well-known messenger service in the Günzburg region on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The perpetrators pretended to be relatives who had a new cell phone number. That is why they are not immediately recognizable by their cell phone number. The scammers wanted money to be transferred to pay an alleged repair bill. In one case, the perpetrators managed to get their victim to transfer a four-digit sum of money. In the other cases, the victims recognized the attempted fraud and no money was transferred.
Fraud via messenger: man from Pfaffenhofen sees through the trick
A 67-year-old woman from Weißenhorn read a message on her cell phone that was distributed via a messenger service at around 5:25 p.m. last Saturday. In the text, the plight of a child was feigned. On the instructions of the stranger, the woman made two transfers, one for a low four-digit sum and the other for almost 3,200 euros. Fortunately, the second transfer could still be booked back by the bank police.
In the second case from the Neu-Ulm district, a 60-year-old man received a text message stating that it came from one of his sons. Due to a change of provider, the phone number would have changed. The man was asked to save the number displayed and delete the old number, which he did. As a result, the unknown perpetrator pretended that the son was in distress and asked the 60-year-old to transfer a high three-digit sum to a specified account number. The victim followed the instructions and only saw through the scam the next day when the perpetrator tried again to persuade him to make a transfer.
Attention, scammers: the police give tips
The police list four questions that those who are called or written to in these cases should ask themselves:
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- Is this a new unknown contact?
- Does the lyricist pretend to be a relative?
- Is money required?
- Can’t call back the originator of the message or send a voice message?
If the answers are “yes,” police warn, caution is advised. “Don’t answer and don’t transfer any money!” Is the tip from the police headquarters in Swabia South/West, which states: “The new version of the grandchildren’s scam is spreading like wildfire.” Within a week alone, the police headquarters in Swabia South/West recorded nine cases (including the ones currently mentioned). This resulted in damage of well over 10,000 euros within a week. For comparison: In the whole of 2021, the Presidium registered a loss of 14,500 euros with this type of fraud. (THE)
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